(MENAFN) UAE's Etihad Airlines is planning to buy almost half of Alitalia, an Italian airline, as well as investing USD751 million in an effort to reconstruct the struggling company, The Peninsula Qatar reported.
The deal, which will pay 49 percent of Alitalia's stake, a share in its frequent flier program, will save the company which was close to bankruptcy several times, which registered a net loss of USD 762.97 million last year.
After long negotiations with the unions, Alitalia will have to cut 1,635 jobs from its staff of 14,000 employees.
"The way Alitalia is going to look in the future is very different. We're putting in a three-year plan to move the airline back to profitability by 2017,"Etihad's CEO said.
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