Japan Airlines (JAL) may be able cut pensions to former employees, suggests a recent survey of JAL pensioners.
Results from a survey sent to 8,800 retirees by JAL show that two-thirds of respondents were willing to accept a cut in pensions.
About 7,600 retirees replied, says a JAL spokeswoman. Of the 7,600, 5,700 agreed to the cuts.
This is just under the two-thirds proportion needed to go ahead with the plan.
JAL had proposed cutting pensions by 30%, as it aims to cut costs and help reduce its $15 billion debt.
"The results of the survey seem positive, but we will not be overly optimistic as there are people who did not reply, and also because this survey did not detail their individual pension amounts," says the spokeswoman.
JAL has met its retirees in 124 sessions to explain the rationale for the cuts and expects to conduct 80 more, she adds.
The airline has also secured 90% approval for a proposed a 50% cut to the pensions of its 17,000 current employees', says the spokeswoman.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news