Malaysia Airlines will fire 6,000 of its staffers

Malaysia Airlines announced Friday that the company is planning to cut 6,000 employees, about 30 percent of its total staff. The news comes as the company embarks on a $1.9 billion overhaul after experiencing two disasters with its planes — the disappearance of Flight 370 over the Indian Ocean in March and the shooting down of Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine in July. The company is also looking for a new CEO.

Analysts told The Associated Press that the staff cuts imply that Malaysia Airlines may offer fewer flights to Europe and China.

In addition to its staff cuts, Malaysia Airlines will be removed from Malaysia's stock exchange and will fall under government control. Khazanah Nasional, the state investment company with majority ownership of the airline, hopes to relist its shares on the Malaysian stock exchange by 2019.

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The disasters "created a perfect storm for the restructuring to take place," Khazanah Managing Director Azman Mokhtar told AP. "We need to have a fresh start."