The European Commission has proposed to provide Italy with €1.4 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 184 former workers of Alitalia to find new jobs. Most of the redundancies occurred in the region of Lazio.

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Italy applied for support from the EGF following the dismissal of 1,249 workers in Alitalia. These job losses resulted from the decline of the EU's market share in international passenger air transport between 2008 and 2014.

The measures co-financed by the EGF would help the 184 workers facing the greatest difficulties in finding new jobs by providing them with

• skill assessment and active job-search support,
• training,
• reimbursement of mobility cost to attend training and hiring incentives.

The total estimated cost of the package is €2.3 million, of which the EGF would provide €1.4. The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers for approval.

Background

Over the period 2008-2012, global air traffic increased by 4.6% per year while air traffic between Europe and the rest of the world however grew at a slower pace (2.4%). This led to a decrease of the EU-27’s market share in air transport as measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPK). In 2013 and 2014 the same trend continued. European air traffic grew by 3.8% in 2013 and by 5.7% in 2014 compared to the previous year but below the world average (5.2% and 6.3% respectively). It now accounts for 38% of world traffic (measured in RPK), one percentage point less than in 2012.