El Al CEO Gonen Ussishkin has delivered a statement to the company's employees, telling them that he is doing what he can to get El Al back up on its feet, despite the difficult times.
"I am determined to do whatever I can to find us all a solution, according to the outline already developed," he said. "These are difficult times for us, and we have to make painful decisions. "In recent days, El Al has sent 500 more employees on unpaid leave, including 100 pilots, such that over 90% of the labor force is now on unpaid leave."
According to a report in Globes, El Al's CEO wanted to make clear to his employees that the decision to ground all flights from last Friday was due to understaffing, and not, as pilots are saying, due to financial considerations.