UAE’s Etihad imposes hiring freeze for 2016

Etihad Aviation Group, the parent company of Abu Dhabi’s flagship carrier Etihad Airways, will not be hiring any new non-operational staff until the end of the year, a spokesperson for the group confirmed to Argaam.

The hiring freeze was imposed in the first quarter of 2016 in response to lower profit margins on airfares across the industry.

Earlier, local media had quoted group’s president and chief executive James Hogan as saying that some of the group’s employees would not be replaced, in case they resigned.

The group, however, will not lay off any of its staff and the freeze would only be for back-office positions. The company will continue to hire cabin crew members, pilots and engineers.

In April, Etihad announced a net profit of $103 million for fiscal year 2015, up from a profit of $73 million in FY-2014.