BA looking at layoffs
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What world are you living in ?
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From the BBC:
April 1, 2020
The airline, which grounded much of its fleet due to the coronavirus crisis, has been negotiating with the Unite union for more than a week.
The two sides have reached a broad deal but are yet to sign on some details.
The agreement means that up to 80% of BA cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and those working at head office will have their jobs suspended but no staff are expected to be made redundant.
The decision will affect all staff at Gatwick and London City Airport after the airline suspended its operations at both locations until the crisis is over.
Those affected are expected to receive some of their wages through the government's coronavirus job retention scheme, which covers 80% of someone's salary capped at a maximum of £2,500 a month.
It is thought that the Unite union has been pushing for staff to be paid more than that. BA has already reached a separate deal with its pilots who will take a 50% pay cut over two months.
BA's parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), is in a better financial position than some of its competitors. The group has made healthy profits in recent years.
But the airline's expected decision to suspend such a large number of workers gives a sense of how hard UK aviation has been hit by travel restrictions, designed to stem the spread of the pandemic.
With future bookings cancelled for the foreseeable future, airlines have been haemorrhaging cash.
Over the next three months, the International Air Transport Association expects airlines to rack up losses of almost $40bn (£32.3bn). It said carriers were burning through their cash reserves fast, mainly because of the multi-billion-pound cost of refunding tickets for cancelled flights.
Many staff at Virgin Atlantic have had their jobs suspended for two months and crews at Easyjet are out of work for three months.
This week, British Airways has run government repatriation flights to get hundreds of British nationals home from Peru, after the country went into lockdown.
It is one of several UK-based airlines that has agreed to run further repatriation flights in the coming weeks as hundreds of thousands of people are still stuck in other parts of the world.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52130021
BA expected to suspend 36,000 staff
By Tom Burridge Transport correspondent, BBC NewsApril 1, 2020
The airline, which grounded much of its fleet due to the coronavirus crisis, has been negotiating with the Unite union for more than a week.
The two sides have reached a broad deal but are yet to sign on some details.
The agreement means that up to 80% of BA cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and those working at head office will have their jobs suspended but no staff are expected to be made redundant.
The decision will affect all staff at Gatwick and London City Airport after the airline suspended its operations at both locations until the crisis is over.
Those affected are expected to receive some of their wages through the government's coronavirus job retention scheme, which covers 80% of someone's salary capped at a maximum of £2,500 a month.
It is thought that the Unite union has been pushing for staff to be paid more than that. BA has already reached a separate deal with its pilots who will take a 50% pay cut over two months.
BA's parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), is in a better financial position than some of its competitors. The group has made healthy profits in recent years.
But the airline's expected decision to suspend such a large number of workers gives a sense of how hard UK aviation has been hit by travel restrictions, designed to stem the spread of the pandemic.
With future bookings cancelled for the foreseeable future, airlines have been haemorrhaging cash.
Over the next three months, the International Air Transport Association expects airlines to rack up losses of almost $40bn (£32.3bn). It said carriers were burning through their cash reserves fast, mainly because of the multi-billion-pound cost of refunding tickets for cancelled flights.
Many staff at Virgin Atlantic have had their jobs suspended for two months and crews at Easyjet are out of work for three months.
This week, British Airways has run government repatriation flights to get hundreds of British nationals home from Peru, after the country went into lockdown.
It is one of several UK-based airlines that has agreed to run further repatriation flights in the coming weeks as hundreds of thousands of people are still stuck in other parts of the world.
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At least where I work, an announcement like this would go out to the stock markets first, then to the staff. Staff aren't (and pretty much can't be, due to US stock exchange rules) trusted with material nonpublic information about the company lest they leak it. I know BA's a UK/Spain quoted company but the principles are the same.
So, assuming the staff are reading a rolling newsfeedor have a news alert set up for the name of the company, we know major things via the press before the internal announcement communications hit our inboxes.
It pretty much sucks for the feelings of the staff, but laws and lawyers ready to sue on behalf of shareholders if anything leaks mean that it'll never be any other way for a large company with a big announcement. If you work for a large quoted company and you're not one of the few insiders implementing a decision, you'll find out what's happening in the press like everyone else.
So, assuming the staff are reading a rolling newsfeedor have a news alert set up for the name of the company, we know major things via the press before the internal announcement communications hit our inboxes.
It pretty much sucks for the feelings of the staff, but laws and lawyers ready to sue on behalf of shareholders if anything leaks mean that it'll never be any other way for a large company with a big announcement. If you work for a large quoted company and you're not one of the few insiders implementing a decision, you'll find out what's happening in the press like everyone else.
No, some ******** leaked half a story to the Scum last night. The deal hadn't been done.
The new deal is very good for the staff affected. The TU have played a blinder. For a change.
The new deal is very good for the staff affected. The TU have played a blinder. For a change.
In the context of the latest announcement you need to be clear about who the "you" is you are referring to..
Unite Press release
There's certainly a body of opinion that Unite have indeed "played a blinder" compared with at least one Association.
Unite Press release
There's certainly a body of opinion that Unite have indeed "played a blinder" compared with at least one Association.
Last edited by wiggy; 3rd Apr 2020 at 01:04.
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Given it’s likely that competition at Gatwick will likely decrease post covid 19 (never say never but) I doubt it. Heathrow is slot constrained and that will likely remain the case when the dust has settled. Gatwick has been profitable for a long while now, especially profitable with the beach fleet. It obviously works for BA, if it wasn’t working they’d have already closed Gatwick, IAG are ruthless in that respect. If BA are still there it’s because there’s a clear business case for it.