1,100 People Or More To Lose Their Jobs After WOW Air Goes Under

Iceland’s Directorate of Labour is now bracing itself as some 1,100 employees of WOW Air will soon be looking for new jobs.

Unnur Sverrisdóttir, the director of the Directorate, told Vísir that her staff met this morning and launched emergency operations in response to WOW Air ceasing all operations. She says it is their first priority to attend to those employees who will lose their jobs.

This will mean not only some 1,100 who work for WOW Air directly; it could also entail many more people whose jobs are indirectly connected to the airline, which may include employees of Keflavík International Airport. How many people that entails is not clear at the time of this writing. While WOW Air has not formally announced any layoffs, Unnur says she has been made aware that WOW Air employees are meeting with management.

The Directorate is encouraging these employees to apply for unemployment benefits as soon as possible; it can take some weeks for claims to be processed. That application process can be begun on the Directorate’s website. In the event the company declares bankruptcy, employees are encouraged to contact their unions or a lawyer about filing a claim.

To help further in the effort, the Directorate will be open at Kringlan and in Reykjanesbær from 13:00 to 16:00 tomorrow to help departing WOW Air employees.

Those who booked their flights with WOW Air only to find their flight cancelled are advised to inform themselves on what next steps they can take.