British no-frills airline EasyJet has announced that it will axe up to 4,500 jobs, or almost a third of its workforce, as coronavirus ravages demand and grounds global air travel, AFP reported.

“We are planning to reduce the size of our fleet and to optimise the network and our bases. As a result, we anticipate reducing staff numbers by up to 30 percent across the business and we will continue to remove cost and non-critical expenditure at every level,” said Chief Executive Johan Lundgren in a statement.

The job cuts will impact up to 4,500 of the carrier's 15,000 staff, a spokesman told AFP. A consultation process will be launched in the coming days.

EasyJet follows competitors British Airways, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic, which have all slashed staff numbers to save costs.