Blue Christmas

[VC10 Rib22]

B.A.A.'s Chief Executive Mike Clasper has just announced 700 management positions to disappear. Why do these companies always release news like this just before Christmas? Commiserations.

VC10 Rib22

:(

Edited to replace a mistaken word, which proves that making a rushed post in the morning, before the brain has warmed up, is not ideal. Of course, I meant commiserations! Thanks Wombat.

[wombat13]

On the other hand they could leave it till January / February when the Christmas spend credit card bills are coming in and tell people then.............


and as for condolences, is that not something you say to people when there is a death??

[African Tech Rep]

If he has “just announced” 700 people will be laid off personally I’d say just before Christmas is not that bad a time – it will allow those that may be affected to factor this possibility into their plans.

If he has specified the 700 people that would be slightly different – but then again there never is a good time to tell them.

We should still be far enough away from Christmas for those who may be affected to either reduce their spending as things might be tight next year or increase it as it may be the ast chance to “have a blowout” as they feel fit.

The same announcement made next month would be far worse.

[A4]

Any ideas as to the posts affected? Splitting the numbers between LHR, LGW and STN at say 300, 250 and 150 makes you wonder what all these people "managed".

Having been through redundancy myself, I can appreciate the anxiety now being felt by the staff after the announcment.

[Desk Driver]

Perhaps it's because end of year about now

[G-CPTN]

>Why do these companies always release news like this just before Christmas? It's like a double kick in the teeth for all families affected.

I've pondered that over the years, but there's no 'ideal' time. If you received it just AFTER having spent loads on your presents, you'd curse them for not telling you. OTOH you can decide to have 'one last blow out' and s0d them (you'll also find that once you've lost your income the banks will be falling over themselves to provide you with credit!). Those that spend large sums on Summer Holidays (usually booked just after Christmas) will also suffer when redundancy falls in the Spring or early Summer, and if you go Skiing . . . .
Anyway, 'Human Resources' delight in making folks' life a misery. Who else would want to work in 'Personnel'?

>Having been through redundancy myself, I can appreciate the anxiety now being felt by the staff after the announcment.

I 'survived' several rounds of redundancies over more than a decade with one employer, before jumping (taking VOLUNTARY redundancy) when offered a job elsewhere. I also saw many others in similar circumstances in other companies that I visited (in my new job) and believe me the THREAT is even more depressing that the reality, as it goes on, and on . . . Nobody functions properly. It's best (!) when it's swift. Sudden death is better than slow torture.

[Fargoo]

A more pertinant question is why do they always announce this sort of thing just after a whopping rise in profits (9%).
That's a double kick in the teeth if you ask me.

[Hotel Tango]

Whilst not wishing redundancy on anyone, I'm surprised to see that these are management posts. Perhaps the company has recognised that it's top heavy. Most redundancies one reads about generally affect the poor buggers at the bottom.

[G-CPTN]

>Most redundancies one reads about generally affect the poor buggers at the bottom.

OTOH you save more by getting rid of the higher-paid employees. There's also a theory that 'management' will cover for departed colleagues (fearing for their own job) whilst the lower-echelons will tell management to go and service themselves . . .

[Genghis the Engineer]

"just before"?

It's 2 months until Christmas, I thought that only the supermarkets couldn't tell the difference.

G

[Mr Angry from Purley]

G-CPTN How about being made redundant before xmas, getting my payslip but not the money in the bank.
:\

[egbt]

G-CPTN

You’re quite right, there is no ideal time, indeed all times are bad.

Having been involved in a great number of “downsizing” exercises over the years (that’s Euroepan and N. American manufacturing for you:{ ),timing inevitably comes up and there is always a discussion and rarely a satisfactory answer, normally you just get on with it and try and get the disruption and the nastiness out of the way as soon as practical and move on.

[View From The Ground]

The numer of redundancies does not seem excessive given the size of the Company and as someone mentioned before its fairly 'top heavy' structure.
The law obliges a Company to seek volunteers for redundancy, and I would suspect that BAA will make the package sufficiently desirable to be able to attain the figure through volunteers alone.
I know of a fomer fairly senior manager who received approx £80K as a redundancy payment...
I suspect there will be sufficient volunteers....and the money should insulate them for a while from the cold world outside BAA's tender embrace!
I know a number of people working for the BAA and I hope that the situation can be managed with the least pain for everyone. Having been made redundant more than once, never voluntarily, I fully understand the concern this situation will cause the BAA's employees however I think that if there is a Company that will probably handle the process reasonably fairly and generously then it is the BAA based upon past evidence

[Curious Pax]

I think WW will have his hands full running BA without running BAA too!:ok: