Italian
flagship airline Alitalia
is poised to cut 5,000 jobs in an effort to avoid bankruptcy.
The
troubled airline, which has the Italian Government as its major shareholder,
said the payroll reductions would save €315m (£213m) in 2005-2006.
The
airline has been dogged by accusations of large-scale poor people management
and massive over-staffing.
It
is currently in negotiations with unions over the job cuts.