BERLIN (Reuters) – Shares in Germany’s Lufthansa were trading 3.6% lower at 0833 GMT on Friday, as shareholders reacted to the airline’s announcement that it would shed two thirds of its board by the middle of the year.

The board will shrink from six members to five and Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen is among the executives to leave, the company announced on Thursday. CEO Carsten Spohr will stay.

Much of the focus is on Steenbergen’s departure, investors at JP Morgan said, calling the outgoing CFO “well-liked and well-respected by investors”.

Stifel said in a note to traders however that the news was not completely out of the blue after the parent company decided not to pursue plans to sell a minority stake in Lufthansa Technik, in what was seen as a blow to Steenbergen’s authority.

(Reporting by Rachel More; editing by Bartosz Dabrowski)