SAS warns of "final call" for survival SAS, the perennially lossmaking Scandinavian airline, warned that it was facing its last chance for survival as it laid out a drastic cost-cutting plan to slash 40 per cent of workers as well as reducing wages and pensions. Rickard Gustafson, chief executive, challenged unions to back the plan, even though some have said in advance they will fight it, by stressing that SKr3.5bn ($518m) in new loans for the airline was dependent on changes in collective agreements. "This truly is our "final call" if there is to be a SAS in the future... I know we are asking a lot of our employees, but there is no other way," Mr Gustafson said. The number of workers at SAS would fall from 15,000 to 9,000 under the plan, with 800 administrative staff losing their job and several units being sold, including its ground handling operations and its Widerøe regional airline in Norway. Pay would be cut by up to 15 per cent, pensions would be moved from defined benefit to defined contribution in an attempt to reduce obligations by more than a half, or SKr18bn, and working conditions would be standardised. SAS - in which the governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark share a 50 per cent stake - has lost money ever since 2007, weighed down by its own high costs and hit hard by low-cost competitors such as Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair. The airline is most immediately fighting for survival because of changes in pension accounting that would all but wipe out shareholders" equity. SAS said the changes to workers" pensions would reduce the hit to equity by SKr2.8bn, rather than by SKr10.7bn without the restructuring measures. SAS hopes the new plan will boost pre-tax earnings by SKr3bn annually, on top of SKr5bn in improvements announced just last year, as well as SKr3bn in divestments. Restructuring costs are expected to be SKr1.5bn and the airline said it expected to make a small loss before tax and non-recurring items for this year.