German flag-carrier Lufthansa has said it will shed 22,000 jobs as it downsizes its operations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The airline has predicted a slow recovery in demand and expects to have about 100 fewer aircraft after the crisis.

Lufthansa said half the job cuts would be in Germany.

The group – which also controls Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings – said it hopes to agree the measures with unions by June 22nd.

It added that it hoped to minimise redundancies through short-time working and crisis agreements.

“The aim is to pave the way for the preservation of as many jobs as possible in the Lufthansa Group,” the firm said in a statement.

Lufthansa labour director Michael Niggemann added: “Without a significant reduction in personnel costs during the crisis, we will miss the opportunity of a better restart from the crisis and risk that the Lufthansa Group will emerge from the crisis significantly weakened.”

Last month, Lufthansa agreed  a rescue deal worth €9 billion with the German government to save it from collapse.

In return, the government will take a 20 per cent stake in the firm, which it intends to sell by the end of 2023.

Subsidiary Austrian Airlines also secured a further €600 million in bailout funds earlier this week.

The group has slowly been returning to operations in recent days, but does not expect demand to return to 2019 levels until at least 2023.