Ryanair mulls extra job cuts after more 737 MAX delays

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair has warned it could axe more jobs and bases because of fresh delivery delays to Boeing's crisis-hit 737 MAX jet, according to a staff memo.

Dated January 27 and obtained by AFP on Wednesday, it warned that Boeing had pushed back its MAX aircraft deliveries by a minimum of four months.

The Irish carrier, whose fleet is comprised exclusively of Boeing jets, added that it expected to take delivery of "at least" ten MAX 200 aircraft by September or October "at the earliest".

Ryanair had already shut down some bases and axed 900 jobs last July -- when it forecast that Boeing would deliver just 30 of its ordered jets by May 2020.

The Dublin-based airline had originally expected to take delivery of 58 Boeing 737 MAX jets in time for summer 2020 in the northern hemisphere.

"More negative news from Boeing... on our MAX deliveries," the memo read. "We will now urgently revisit this summer 2020 schedule to remove another ten aircraft.

Sadly, this means we cannot rule out further base cuts and closures." It added that "further pilot and cabin crew job losses cannot be ruled out" as well.

US aviation giant Boeing faces a crisis over its top-selling 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March 2019 after two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.