737atlast
29th Jan 2008, 09:34
Looks like Tuifly will be merging with Germanwings.
From Times OnlineJanuary 29, 2008
TUI staff face more cuts as 100 UK shops close
Hundreds of staff could be impacted as TUI Travel, the group behind First Choice and Thomson, looks to save £150m Steve Hawkes
Hundreds of staff could lose their jobs after TUI Travel, Europe’s biggest tour operator, today announced plans to close 100 high street travel agencies in the UK.
The group, formed in March last year by the £3 billion merger between First Choice and Thomson Holidays, said today that it wanted to increase cost savings by a further £50 million to £150 million a year.
It is already pressing on with the closure of offices in Crawley and Manchester as part of a wider reorganisation, which is expected to see thousands of jobs affected.
TUI Travel employs more than 18,000 staff in the UK out of 40,000 across Europe.
“It’s not small numbers clearly and it’s a sensitive issue,” he said today. “We are very mindful that we want to work through this with our colleagues. We would hope to achieve a lot of this through natural staff turnover.”
Mr Long has carried out a 100-day review of the business to see where further cost savings, and investments, can be made.
TUI is the biggest tour operator in Europe and has made little secret of its ambition to expand into Russia, India and China.
Mr Long today said that the group should be able to increase operating margins from 2.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent and double its return on invested capital.
It has also signed a memorandum of understanding to merge TUIfly, its airline, with GermanWings, the carrier run by Lufthansa.
Mr Long today said that there was no sign that the slowdown hitting the high street would affect holiday bookings. Sales at TUI Travel for summer 2008 are up 8 per cent.
“Current trading is encouraging,” Mr Long said. “Our customers are cutting back on eating out and home improvement work instead. They are saying ‘My main holiday is an essential, we are not going to not go away’.”
From Times OnlineJanuary 29, 2008
TUI staff face more cuts as 100 UK shops close
Hundreds of staff could be impacted as TUI Travel, the group behind First Choice and Thomson, looks to save £150m Steve Hawkes
Hundreds of staff could lose their jobs after TUI Travel, Europe’s biggest tour operator, today announced plans to close 100 high street travel agencies in the UK.
The group, formed in March last year by the £3 billion merger between First Choice and Thomson Holidays, said today that it wanted to increase cost savings by a further £50 million to £150 million a year.
It is already pressing on with the closure of offices in Crawley and Manchester as part of a wider reorganisation, which is expected to see thousands of jobs affected.
TUI Travel employs more than 18,000 staff in the UK out of 40,000 across Europe.
“It’s not small numbers clearly and it’s a sensitive issue,” he said today. “We are very mindful that we want to work through this with our colleagues. We would hope to achieve a lot of this through natural staff turnover.”
Mr Long has carried out a 100-day review of the business to see where further cost savings, and investments, can be made.
TUI is the biggest tour operator in Europe and has made little secret of its ambition to expand into Russia, India and China.
Mr Long today said that the group should be able to increase operating margins from 2.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent and double its return on invested capital.
It has also signed a memorandum of understanding to merge TUIfly, its airline, with GermanWings, the carrier run by Lufthansa.
Mr Long today said that there was no sign that the slowdown hitting the high street would affect holiday bookings. Sales at TUI Travel for summer 2008 are up 8 per cent.
“Current trading is encouraging,” Mr Long said. “Our customers are cutting back on eating out and home improvement work instead. They are saying ‘My main holiday is an essential, we are not going to not go away’.”