Quote from the above FT Article:
Always one more cup of coffee for ‘Costa Brigade’
Emirates staff derisively talk about the airline’s middle managers as the “Costa Brigade”, referring to those who hang out at the large coffee shop on the ground floor of the group’s headquarters, writes Simeon Kerr.
The swelling ranks of middle management have for several years been undermining staff morale as the airline, which was founded in 1985, has expanded.
Despite criticism that the group has become bloated, airline staff numbers are still rising. According to the 2016-17 annual report, airline workers increased 7.5 per cent to 51,628, including an 8.6 per cent increase in non- operational staff.
Insiders say this growth has come despite redundancies in departments such as IT and human resources.
Making cost cuts and rationalising is, therefore, the obvious way forward for the group, say analysts.
An internal memo at the group said one of the costs that management will focus on is those of employees, the airline’s second largest expense after fuel.
The memo said there would be “no pay review” and a policy of only filling vacancies “if absolutely critical”.
Employees say the gradual squeezing of benefits and perks and overworking hours has eroded Emirates’ reputation as an employer of choice among the airline industry.
Sir Tim Clark, the airline’s president, rejects such claims, saying the increase in staff levels reflects a content culture with a minority of moaners.
But some members of staff are still unhappy. “It just isn’t as attractive as it used to be,” said one.