Virgin Atlantic’s planned 3,150 job cuts will show the airline is taking “self-help” measures and help it to win financial support from either the British government or a private sector investor, an internal memo to pilots seen by Reuters said.In an internal memo dated May 6 which was addressed “Dear Pilots”, the airline said that it only needed 550 pilots out of about 1,000 currently, and that shedding jobs would help it win new investment.
“In order for us to qualify for financial support from HM Government or the private sector it is critical that we demonstrate that we have taken all self-help measures in a timely fashion so we can secure the funding we need to survive,” the memo said.
When asked about the memo, Virgin, which is in a consultation period with unions over the redundancies, said it continued to explore options for additional funding with the government and private investors.
Sad times.