This follows an agreement reached two weeks ago with its flight attendants to save $30 million ‎annually.‎

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El Al said the three agreements will result in a reduction of 1,700 employees in its workforce of 6,500.‎

Some workers will be offered early retirement while others will be let go with enhanced ‎compensation packages.‎

‎"The agreements signed have given a real chance to El Al's recovery and to the possibility it will return ‎to being the flag carrier of Israel's aviation industry," said Avi Edri, chairman of the transport workers ‎union at the Histadrut Labor Federation. ‎

On Monday, El Al's board agreed to a bailout that will likely put the carrier back under state ownership ‎after the coronavirus crisis pushed it to the verge of bankruptcy.‎

The government has offered to back $250 million in bank loans while El Al must issue $150 million in ‎shares, which the state will buy if no one else does. The bailout is contingent on its unions signing off ‎on cost-cutting measures. A deal with pilots still needs to be reached.‎

El Al, which has reported losses for two years running and racked up debt in order to renew its fleet, ‎suspended flights when Israel closed its borders and furloughed most of its employees.‎

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An official at El Al, which has put almost all of its 6,500 workers on unpaid leave and suspended passenger service, said that the board of the company will choose between two proposals.

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Avi Edri, chairperson of the transport workers union at the Histadrut labour federation, said 2,000 job cuts are likely, as well as salary reductions to pilots.

"Without [government] money El Al will go bankrupt," Edri said. "We don't have any choice but to dismiss workers."

El Al has signed a deal with flight attendants and is in talks with mechanics and pilots.

Of the two proposals on the table, one includes $400 million in bank loans, 82.5% guaranteed by the state, and El Al issuing 150 million shekels ($43 million) in shares, requiring capital from controlling shareholders.

A second is a $250 million, 75% state-backed loan plus a $150 million share offer, in which the government commits to buy whatever shares are not purchased by the public.

Either decision will drastically alter El Al since a key condition for receiving the loans is achieving $400 million of cost savings a year.

El Al will also give up some of its fleet of short-haul Boeing 737 aircraft and eliminate unprofitable routes, although it will likely keep all its Boeing 787s, the official said.

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The airline, which owes some $350 million in customer refunds due to canceled flights after Israel closed its borders, lost $140 million in the first quarter.

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, El Al faced increased competition, but the official said that it will eventually be profitable due to the drop in expenses.

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