KUWAIT CITY, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait Airways will lay off 1,500 expatriate employees amid the ongoing travel downturn caused by COVID-19 and revenues at the airline in sharp decline, the company said on Thursday.
In response to the coronavirus situation and its negative impact on its commercial operation, the company decided to lay off approximately 1,500 non-Kuwaiti employees, the company said in a statement, adding that the layoff plan involves employees across all departments.
The company stressed that this difficult decision comes due to the current situation the company is facing in particular and the global aviation sector in general, where the impact of the coronavirus on the aviation industry is expected to continue.
On March 13, Kuwait suspended all commercial flights. The government also closed stores, malls and barbershops in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
Kuwait and China have been supporting each other and cooperated closely in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kuwait donated medical supplies worth 3 million U.S. dollars to China at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, while China has been facilitating the procurement of medical supplies by Kuwait.
On April 27, a team of Chinese medical experts visited Kuwait to assist the Arab country's anti-coronavirus fight, through sharing with Kuwaiti counterparts their experiences and expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Enditem
