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DISMISSAL 'PART OF PURGE'

Turkish Airlines fires over 200 personnel

ISTANBUL, July 25, 2016

Turkish Airlines fired more than 200 employees, including management and cabin crew, as part of a purge at state institutions to root out supporters of an abortive coup, Turkish media reported on Monday.

The dismissals at the national carrier occurred late on Sunday after it was determined the employees were linked to a religious movement President Tayyip Erdogan has said attempted to overthrow the government on July 15, Sabah newspaper said.

A  Turkish Airlines statement said labour contracts of 211 employees have been cancelled.

"Active as of July 22, contracts are cancelled given the non-fulfillment of performance criterion and in line with the necessary actions we are taking against the FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization) structure, attitudes and behaviour conflicting with the interest of our country and company," it said.

"As Turkish Airlines, united with all of the heroic and honourable Turkish people in extraordinary efforts, we have acknowledged our responsibility to terminate the malevolent illegal attempt. Under any circumstances, we have and will continue to fulfill our responsibility to contribute to democracy," it added.

Aviation news site Airporthaber.com said that among those let go was a deputy chief executive responsible for the airline's financial affairs.

Authorities have sacked, suspended or detained some 60,000 people, mainly public-sector employees, after a failed coup by a small faction in the military. They are accused of sympathising or belonging to a religious group led by Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher in self-imposed exile in the United States.

Separately, landline operator Turk Telekom, which is 30 per cent state-owned, sacked 198 people on Friday in "cooperation with the security forces" and said some managers had been summoned by prosecutors for testimony in connection with the coup investigation, according to e-mailed statements.

More than 240 people were killed and 2,000 injured in violence surrounding the July 15 coup attempt.

Turkish Airlines shares were up 2.83 per cent at 5.08 lira ($1.65) on Monday, in line with the main index. Turk Telekom outpaced the index, rising 3.59 per cent to 6.06 lira ($1.96). - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Personnel | Turkish | Airlines | coup | fired |

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