Aer Lingus job cuts to total 670

The Irish Airline says it plans to save 97m euros (£88m) as a result of the cuts.

The airline's cabin crew face 230 compulsory redundancies after their union rejected restructuring plans.

Other staff, whose unions agreed with the cuts, will see 440 voluntary job losses.

Earlier, Aer Lingus reported losses of 66.2m euros (£60m, $88m) for 2009.

The losses came despite a rise in passenger numbers to 10.4 million.

The figures were released in a short trading update one day after the company said it would have to delay its complete full-year results.

The airline said that the agreement of the majority of unions meant that harsher cost-cutting measures, involving the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, could be avoided.

The move comes at a difficult time for airlines, with many looking to make cuts in the face of falling passenger numbers.

British Airways still faces the threat of strike action over cuts it plans to make to cabin crew numbers, while German flag carrier Lufthansa is in talks with its pilots.

source: BBC