Malaysia Airlines CEO: Company 'technically bankrupt'

The newly appointed chief executive of loss-making Malaysia Airlines said on Monday the carrier is "technically bankrupt", underlining the case for a restructuring to cut a third of jobs, scrap some international routes and review its long-haul fleet, according to Reuters.

"We are technically bankrupt ... the decline of performance started long before the tragic events of 2014," Christoph Mueller said during a news conference.

It marked the first public appearance as CEO for Mueller, who was hired last month by the carrier's owner, Malaysian state fund Khazanah.

The company also disclosed plans to begin its previously announced layoffs of 6,000, a move to shrink its workforce to 14,000.

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