As the coronavirus outbreak compels Qatar Airways to slash flights, the airways unexpectedly laid off about 200 Filipino staff in Qatar this week. Among those laid off were Filipino employees, including engineers and maintenance staff.
The Philippine Labour Secretary, Silvestre Bello, speaking to media, mentioned that their labour is under strict instructions to determine what is the real cause of the decision to retrench them on the basis of redundancy. Qatar Airways, however, did not respond to the request for a comment.
The state-owned Qatar Airways had warned that it would report its third consecutive year of financial loss this month end, before the virus outbreak further battered the travel demand globally. Qatar Airways is one of the biggest airlines in the Middle East, with most transits happening through its Doha hub.
It does not operate domestic flights. Qatar has also implemented strict entry regulations to stop the spread of COVID-19 which has so far infected 442 people in Qatar. All foreigners have been barred entry, and Qatar Airways has slashed flights to various destinations.
