Brazilian airline Gol does not expect its chapter 11 proceedings to trigger job cuts, its chief executive said on Friday, reiterating that the carrier's operations will remain as usual while it is under bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. Gol, Brazil's second-largest airline in terms of passengers transported, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on Thursday as it grapples with high debt seen at around 20 billion reais ($4.07 billion). CEO Celso Ferrer in an interview with CBN radio said that the carrier's main goal with the move is to restructure its balance sheet so it can grow again. "There will not be layoffs related to this process. From now on we want to grow," Ferrer said, adding that operationally the carrier has been seeing a "significant recovery" after positive results in recent quarters. Gol is the latest in a series of Latin American carriers to seek bankruptcy protection after the COVID-19 pandemic, following the path of sister company Avianca, Mexico's Aeromexico and Chile-based LATAM Airlines.
