Reports that KLM plans to cut between 500 and 1,000 jobs by mid-2016 are pure guesswork, the airline said on Thursday.

The Telegraaf earlier quoted the chairman of the cabin personnel union VHKP as saying the job losses were on the cards.

And Bob van der Wal told the paper he has been warned much more serious steps will need to be taken if the airline fails to grow.

In an interview with website nu.nl, Van der Wal said KLM wants to boost productivity 20% by 2020 and reduce labour costs by 10%. This means a reduction of 500 to 1,000 jobs,’ he said. ‘But this is an indication, and the exact plans still have to be worked out.

‘KLM says it wants to streamline the organisation more and cut labour costs. You can do the sums but I don’t know anything about concrete numbers,’ FNV spokesman Jan van den Brink told nu.nl

KLM said last November it plans to save €700m over five years, of which €400m should be generated by lower employment costs.