(Adds details , CEO quote, background)
March 27 (Reuters) - Aviation services group John Menzies
said on Friday it was cutting more than 17,500 jobs
globally and was working with the UK government on the
possibility of aid under its emergency loan scheme for large
companies, for which it said it did not currently qualify.
The airline industry has been among the worst hit by the
coronavirus crisis as companies ground most of their flights in
response to a collapse in demand and restrictions on travel and
movement.
"John Menzies Plc has existed since 1833 and been listed
since 1962, but never have we faced such difficult and
unpredictable times," Chief Executive Officer Giles Wilson said
in a statement.
Menzies, which offers ground handling, fuelling and cargo
handling services for airlines globally, said it was in talks
with its lenders as it reviews all options to shore up
liquidity.
The company said it was waiting for the refinement of the
eligibility criteria for the COVID Corporate Financing Facility
(CCFF) of which it currently does not currently qualify for.
Britain's state aid programmes for the coronavirus shutdown
carry conditions related both to the company's contribution to
the UK, and not global, as well as demanding that firms were
already on solid financial ground before March 1.
Edinburgh-based Menzies was a major UK high street name
until the late 1990s, when it reinvented itself as a major
global provider of fuelling and cargo handling for airlines.
Operating in 34 countries, the company was already
struggling last year with weakness in Europe, lower cargo
volumes and fallout from the global grounding of Boeing's
737 MAX jets.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard
Orr)