1000 Jobs to go at Virgin?

[Bluebaron]

WARNING: RUMOUR!

ok this is "rumours and news"! The news in the office on friday "As many at 1000 cabin crew and pilots to go"?

Big annoucement due Monday?

Anyone know more?

[racedo]

One hopes that its a rumour and not fact behind it but seems many companies are using "Credit Crunch" to sack staff without really think of the impact on the business in 3 years time.

[rog747]

an announcement is being made within 7 days i've heard

sorry to say, but i guess the news wont be all rosey

[vanHorck]

The amount of redundancies at Virgin and other airlines will depend on both the companies and their staff's willingness to keep staff on despite there not being an immediate economical need for it.

This means reduced cost including perhaps willingness of staff to reduce working hours without penalty to the companies...

(cat amongst the pigeons....)

[G-MILF]

They should start with some of the managers first, although I understand a few have gone already. VS has been an upside down triangle for years with the works at the bottom. There is no need for a manager of the manager of the manager, especially when they are spinless and useless.

[chrisbl]

One hopes that its a rumour and not fact behind it but seems many companies are using "Credit Crunch" to sack staff without really think of the impact on the business in 3 years time.

Perhaps may companies are trying to ensure they will just be around in three years time.

If the population at large is losing their jobs then it is pretty likely that there will be jobs lost further downstream especially in nice to have industries like airlines.

[Joetom]

Virgin will not be alone.

Many many jobs will going in the future, should level off early 2011(my guess)

The early cutters will be best placed to enjoy the level off/up turn when it comes about.

The next few years will be hard for many.

[racedo]

I agree Chrisbl.

Unfortunately companies tend to get rid of too much of the what the Yanks call "shared company experience" i.e. the ones who know how to plan for growth and how things really work. Then in an upturn they overpay to recruit this and it takes year or two to try and build it back up.

[Dan Winterland]

I just hope there are enough 'managers' around to remeber the last Virgin knee jerk reaction after 9/11. They made far too many redundant and were suprised when a lot didn't come back when asked!

[Mister Geezer]

One Skipper told me he would be surprised to see 2009 pass with no redundancies from flight crew and that he had heard a whisper of an airframe or two being parked up. :( I am not at Virgin but I know a couple of people who are very close to the bottom of the seniority list, so I hope that this will remain a rumour.

[student88]

At a party on New Years eve in conversation with some friends who are managers at Virgin, I was told how a big announcement towards the end of January was to me made with regards to shedding crew. Obviously this wasn't 100% certain but it was still said.

[joehunt]

Oh dear, not good news, if true. Who's next? When (not if) will Willie get the axe out?

[threemiles]

Look back over the shoulder and you know what's going on in the industry:
Business class load factors are down dramatically, because many banks and international groups have drastically cut travel budgets. Those who sit there pay less than they did (the yield is down by 20%). Economy class fairly filled but at ridicolous rates. Fuel hedges are additional burden against those who hae not hedged. Cargo traffic is down by 35 to 40%. All year over year. Your managers should tell you.

[INKJET]

I think the next few weeks will see the start of major cutbacks by many airlines across Europe, bookings have gone into free fall, with the pound at 1 Euro & massive job losses in the UK, its little wonder. The business side is even worse the likes of RBS under pin many flights to London out of Edinburgh.

Virgin/bmi/Eastern/BA will all have blood on the carpet before the quarter is out

Baby & Globespan have already reduced their fleet size (in Globespans case thro out leasing) Jet2 are parking more aircraft than last winter looking at the daily list of `available to lease' telex to the office that they issue with more than 8 aircraft 75 & 73 most days.

Time to dust off the CV and look for the Sun screen and learn some Arabic:sad:

[wobble2plank]

Ouch, that could hurt the three SH FO's who jumped ship from BA to Virgin last year chasing the quick long haul route!

Good luck to all, trying times indeed.

Forgot to add, all the money is going east! Probably time to look in that direction as well!

[quazz]

25 years and still looking great?

Good luck to everyone in 2009

Q

[HZ123]

RUMOUR; How many staff are at Virgin. If it is a figure like this it must equate to 25% ? Being around LGW last week the lack of passengers was evident, no queues and hardly any cars in the long term car park. Here at LHR things are vastly better but once again evident to all that the pax figures are low.

[The Big Easy]

Any Virgin insider care to put a figure on the number of flightdeck jobs that may go?

TBE.

[ross o carrol kelly]

60ish,we will wait and see what happens tomorow :(

[UFGBOY]

They are starting an AB cabin crew course tomorrow so presume no cuts there?

[ross o carrol kelly]

virgin ran a beaut course knowing that they were letting them go, so i would remain sceptacle until i hear otherwise!!!!

[The Real Slim Shady]

The solution is for the airlines to work together: a cartel.

Stuff the Govt's free market sh1t: it doesn't work.

[stormin norman]

The solution is for the airlines to work together: a cartel

RB is looking around to form one, but who in their right mind would want to team up with him.

[doubleu-anker]

wobble2plank

"Forgot to add, all the money is going east! Probably time to look in that direction as well!"

Just hope you are not under the illusion, that crews from the upcoming cull will be snapped up in the East, because if you are, there will be disappointments.

Might be few jobs going in China or Iraq.

[student88]

A day/week old training course is no problem to get rid off. All they need to give is the minimum notice period under probation which is usually around a week. This is usually done by saying bye bye and giving 1 weeks pay to compensate.

Sad times :sad:

[Dan Air 87]

I agree that these are very sad times for everyone but blaming the Government is just old tosh. How can you possibly blame Gordon? But then who else can Virgin blame?

I have flown VS many many times and on certain routes like JFK they were great value for money and entertainment. But they have let themselves down with some poor unreliable aircraft such as the LGW fleet and the A340-300's that they have on the Indian routes.

[goldeneye]

Dan Air

I agree with you, VS was a pioneer, great service, fantastic airline.
Would fly VS before anyone until recently. Was in Vegas and Orlando last year and went with Thomas Cook instead - despite them having higher fares.

Come on Virgin, get back to the good times, take a leaf out of Etihad or Qatar's book.

[daz211]

I traveled from LGW-LAS last year on VS and it was "BAD".
3hr delay ex LGW, the cabin looked tired and dirty and a 4.5 hr delay
on the rtn.

I have booked LAS for Sep09 LHR-MSP-LAS with KL/NW,
I would rather the pain of T4 and a change of A/C in MSP rather
than try VS again.

Such a shame VS were so good five years back, done LHR-SFO afew times but they have gone down hill now, thats my opinion anyway.

[lexxity]

Good luck guys, we've just gone through it over at bmi. All the best to you all.

[Shanwick Shanwick]

Complete Tosh!

No announcement tomorrow and if there were, 1000 employees would be a long way off the mark.

[VAFFPAX]

Goldeneye and Daz211, both your cases involve the LGW fleet, which is notorious for delays and generally a bad pax experience. It's not an excuse but it does seem that LGW/MAN are the ugly red-haired stepchild of the VS fleet.

The LHR experience is much better.

S.

[ross o carrol kelly]

why then are TREs talking about it down in burgess hill?? over the weekend!!

[wobble2plank]

I wasn't intimating a job in the far east but that the route structure out of Europe would be better placed looking towards the east.

Although the global downturn is affecting those areas they are 'battening down the hatches' as the west doesn't consume as much as previously.

The economy of China has 'slowed' but is still growing, ditto for India.

Virgin still has the primary North Atlantic routes as do BA, both of which are seeing loads and profit margins on these routes tumble.

Look east young man, restructure the airline to target the growing markets.

[Dan Winterland]

Quote: "How can you possibly blame Gordon?"

Quite easily. As chancellor of the exchequer when the seeds of the problem we are facing now were sown, he was complicit in the de-regulation of the banking industry in the UK. If he had got a grip of the situation and regulated when the problems were emerging, the situation we have now would be different. And you can't say the signs weren't there. Mrs W is an economist by training and she has been convinced the levels of credit and the UK money markets have been unsustainable for some time now.

Which is one of the reasons I resigned from Virgin in 2003 and came East.

[vanHorck]

Not all airlines are doing badly.

Easyjet announced their numbers are up (passenger-wise) though margins are down.
https://www.easyjet.com/common/img/q1_2009_trading_statement.pdf

This is a period where the men are separated from the boys.

Traditionally a recession is a period in which market share can be gained providing the company has healthy finances and the boss has balls.

[tonix2003]

so does anyone know how this announcement would even be made? on the internal website? news? etc

[vs69]

Probably through rumours, hearsay and conjecture..... Meeting at 1315....

[Freddie-M]

What meeting is that? With who? Nothing on iFly about it........

[EGCC4284]

Not all airlines are doing badly.

Easyjet announced their numbers are up (passenger-wise) though margins are down.
https://www.easyjet.com/common/img/q..._statement.pdf

So you don’t know what return on capital employed means then

[ross o carrol kelly]

well why dont you explain it to everyone, warren buffet :}

[Nubboy]

Isn't there a tradition of good news on mondays, bad news on fridays.......

[Groundloop]

Not all airlines are doing badly.

Easyjet announced their numbers are up (passenger-wise) though margins are down.

Following the take-over of GB in March one would hope easyJet's pax numbers were up!

[arsbeach]

"Goldeneye and Daz211, both your cases involve the LGW fleet, which is notorious for delays and generally a bad pax experience. It's not an excuse but it does seem that LGW/MAN are the ugly red-haired stepchild of the VS fleet.

The LHR experience is much better."

And what are your issues with Man-Most profitable station -more routes announced -lowest paid staff - Hmm North South divide rearing its ugly head again ?:=

[Bluebaron]

meeting at 1330

[stormin norman]

Isn't there a tradition of good news on mondays, bad news on fridays.......


Not round here, friend of mine just got laid off this morning after 5 + years.
3 months pay, clear your desk and go home-good old labour eh !

[back to front]

Now that 1330 has passed, any news from the Office? Or is it just get ready for bad news in the future?

[BIGBAD]

do you know how to edit ?? :ok:

[A319-100]

Virgin have anounced a pay freeze for all staff from March 2009 for one year. Is this the announcement? If so I am guessing other companies will probably be getting worse news as this year develops.

[xray one]

The initial thread of '1000 jobs to go' is typical scaremongering in times of strife, and is not helpful in any shape or form.

What has been announced on the private Virgin website is confidential and anyone found conveying the points from within may find themselves looking for another job.

In these troubling times vicious rumours are playing into the hands of fear and confidence. The media is bad enough without we the workforce adding fuel to the fire.

Yes this is Pprune, but please have a few facts in something you write.

[BillS]

With 9000 employees, an initial 7% cut in capacity is not so very far below the 1000 originally mentioned and is in-line with numbers mentioned elsewhere.

What is scaremongering in the talk of massive numbers of redundancies.
Natural wastage will not be very far from 7% p.a.
Factor in the number of crew down reported, and VS may have staff numbers to match requirements within the year.

In the current climate a temporary problem is better than many would expect.

[stormin norman]

Does this pay freeze include incremental pay scale increases as well ?

[daz211]

Why not keep LHR and move the LGW base to STN !
Why have a base at LGW and LHR they are so close.

Why Airlines think all transatlantic passengers live south on London
is beyond me :ugh:.

Just think how many BA passengers Virgin would pick up at STN and all the other major transatlantic Airlines would lose passengers also., people dont want to drive around the M25.

People from North London, the South east and beyond would rather fly from STN rather than LHR or LGW remember LGW is at least 1hr 15min from STN and LHR is a little more, so why not not give passengers a choice :ok:.

[crewrest]

Well done Daz. :bored:

[Skipness One Echo]

People from North London, the South east and beyond would rather fly from STN rather than LHR or LGW remember LGW is at least 1hr 15min from STN and LHR is a little more, so why not not give passengers a choice .

Except American, Maxjet and Eos all gave up or went bust as the yields weren't there. I assume you also have a cunning plan to rebuild Stansted to take 7 based B747-400s on turnaround, about 5 at the same time.....
As has been mentioned before the flights are where they are because the market ( and the passengers ) want them there. No one is stopping anyone offering flights from Stansted. The simple fact is as a business, your yields are higher at LHR and LGW. Airlines do not think everyone lives South of London, you are distorting the reality.

[plasticAF]

Inkjet

Looking around Jet2 have a sixth of the fleet on check, of the rest some will be down for various reasons as well as the reduced winter shedules, same as other airlines; so no wonder they have spare capacity