Aer Lingus says pre-Christmas strike called off

DUBLIN Nov 20 (Reuters) - Workers at Irish airline Aer Lingus (AERL.L) on Thursday called off a strike over planned redundancies which could have caused major disruption to pre-Christmas travel, the airline said.

The carrier had launched a redundancy programme to cut over 1,200 jobs and outsource them to third parties to help stem losses, leading trade union SIPTU to ballot for strike action.

The former state airline said on Thursday it had agreed with SIPTU on a plan which may deliver the required cost savings without outsourcing.

"However, until these savings are verified and confirmed by the union, the outsourcing plans remain on the table," it said.

"Aer Lingus welcomes the withdrawal of the notice of intended industrial action by SIPTU and the removal of uncertainty for our customers intending to travel next week," it added.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely)