*** ----> Tunisair, which has a fleet of 30 aircraft and employs 8,000 staff, is planning to lay off 1,200 workers | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Tunisair, which has a fleet of 30 aircraft and employs 8,000 staff, is planning to lay off 1,200 workers

Tunisia’s state airline wants to lay off 1,200 workers to ease financial difficulties which have led to flight delays and the grounding of aircraft due to lack of spare parts, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday.

Tunisair, which has a fleet of 30 aircraft, employs 8,000 staff, part of a bloated public service which the government has failed to trim due to resistance from labor unions.

By comparison Morocco’s state-owned Royal Air Maroc, which has more than 50 aircraft, has some 3,300 workers, according to its website.