Easy Jet job cuts
 

As the other thread has been closed due to a problem with cookies. here is a link to the same news on the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52830665

30% of their workforce

Hopefully not 30% of their pilots though. Those first in the firing line are likely to be lower skilled employees who the company haven't already made a big investment in and can be replaced easily and trained up quickly once things pick up. Higher skilled workers whose performance is more critical and require a greater training investment in time and money are more likely to be kept on, though possibly on reduced conditions. Where a reduction is unavoidable, it might be mitigated by offering early retirement, job sharing, part time or casual with a place at the front of the queue when hiring restarts.

Sympathy to all affected though, not just aircrew.

Yes, the whole things is very very sad.

Customer Service roles and their associated skill sets are invariably transferable. Sadly however, the same cannot be said for Pilots & Engineers.

I guess that given the potential lack of a decent job market that people will be facing in the coming months, everyone, no matter what their skill-set is, will be hugely affected.

Best wishes to all those affected at EJ, and indeed across the entire industry.

My sympathy for everyone affected, but I think that this is another wake-up call for the policy makers - although, again, at a tremendous human cost.

The UK has no plan for going out of lockdown - even worse than that, whatever was left of air transport will now be smashed up by the newly-introduced quarantine rules. With no end in sight, companies are left with no choice but try to ensure their long-term survival by slashing costs and jobs. All these restrictions and the uncertainty surrounding them, combined with the ensuing political and economic uncertainty of the present financial crisis and Brexit, have a deadly impact on airlines. With limited to no support and almost non-existent negotiation between the government and the industry leaders, sad news is yet to come. If there's no working strategy within the next month or two, the second round of retrenchment towards the late summer or the autumn is going to be much worse than this one.

Considering the statement that they are reducing the size of the fleet, it's pretty much on the cards for aircrew to be affected. Costs need to be trimmed to stay competitive in a very poor market for flight loads.

Winter could be even worse, airlines in Europe rely on filling up the coffers during the summer season to tide them over the cold months. Even if normality returns soon, this years holiday season is already a washout, the best that can be hoped for is some last minute bookings for a few days in Spain from those who can still afford to travel and are determined to get away for a break.

With reduced incomes and uncertainty over jobs, many people will simply write this year off and defer travel plans until next year when their situation is clearer and virus fears have receded.

The key to pilot reduction is likely to be the reduced number of hulls on fleet. If none, then the simplest, fairest and, in the longer term, most effective solution would be that gaining significant support in IAG. Part time contracts for the duration.

Kinda depends on whether EJ management regard the Covid crisis as a smash and grab, or perhaps they have a modicum of humanity and decide to take a long term view.

Part-time with seniority-based bids to return to full-time as demand recovers would be a good solution. Even if it means working half of the time and hence getting 50% salary, it's still better than redundancy and living off unemployment benefits or stacking shelves. The individual is still working, earning some money and contributing to the state budget rather than relying on it for benefits. And they are still current as a pilot. For the company that's good news as well since personnel will be current and good to go full-time as soon as demand picks up. So, that would be the closest semblance of a win-win solution under these circumstances.

hunterboy

Have you seen the corona virus agreement? PB has literally taken the Ryanair plan and printed it on an orange page. They most certainly see this as an opportunity for smash and grab.

PilotLZ

Does seniority exist in EJ? I'm sure it didn't in the past. I'm intrigued how people will be selected for redundancy if it comes to that. Let's hope a lot of this is management bluster to strong arm the government into action.

The trouble is, the government couldn't give a sh!t about aviation. It never has and it never will.

Seniority doesn’t exist per se - there isn’t “a big list” and there is no way of finding specifically where you sit within a base or company.

There is obviously however ‘Date Of Joining’, which is used for certain admin purposes. I’m certain that the company wouldn’t order all crew into one list sorted by DOJ, but instead it would be each base sorted by DOJ, and then cuts made roughly from the bottom of each base list where crew numbers need adjusting in each location for the future.

Seniority
 

so different to the US where there is literally ‘a
big list’ that everyone can see. Any reductions start at the bottom and work up. For better of worse; you always know exactly where you stand...
best of kick to everyone. We’re tested all the time. This is just a Another test...

Seniority doesn’t exist per se - there isn’t “a big list” and there is no way of finding specifically where you sit within a base or company.

There is obviously however ‘Date Of Joining’, which is used for certain admin purposes. I’m certain that the company wouldn’t order all crew into one list sorted by DOJ, but instead it would be each base sorted by DOJ, and then cuts made roughly from the bottom of each base list where crew numbers need adjusting in each location for the future.

Problem with this is that movement in the past has been at easyjet behest. Be it for downsizing or command oportunities. Coupled with the threat on bases dare l say it time flying easyjet aircraft will be the biggest and fairest method. Not across easyjet as a company but across each AOC.

UK AOC. I can see bases like Newcastle and Glasgow definitely going. The market in the NE serviced by W rotations from other bases and Edinburgh being a mega base in Scotland.

I then foresee a cost neutral relocation of crew based on EasyLIFO if you are prepared to commute. Problematic for cabin crew who are second earners in families or pilots who cannot relocate.

neilki

This is not specific for easyjet, but as it is one of many transnational airlines in europe, something that the US doesn't have, any comparison is somewhat moot. Working laws differ all over europe and in many of those a simple seniority based order of dismissals is not legal as other factors have to be taken into account, like social situation for example.

I was in the unfortunate situation to have to get to know the german system quite intimately in the past, and there we have very strict rules. For example jobs have to be directly comparable, and that means that one employee has to be able to do the job of another employee without any training, which means first officers and captains are different jobs according to the law and each has to have its own order of dismissal. For each group of employees there are four criteria that have to be taken into account, length of service, age, support obligations and handicapped status (yes, that affects pilots as well, being a diabetic is enough to be officially handicapped and therefore specially protected). Those criteria have to be weighted and a compensation plan has to be negotiated, which can take up to a few months if done right.And even then every employee can sue the company for unlawful dismissal which can take another few years, and has a quite high chance of being won by the employee. So any dismissal has to be done very carefully by the company or they have a huge legal risk.

That said, i wonder how much salary easyjet actually pays currently to their german employees, under short work rules the government pays 60% (67% with kids) of the employees salary, which goes up to 70% (77%) after three months and after another three months up to 80% (87), based on maximum €6.900. That is limited currently until the end of this year, but it is extremely likely that that will be extended until the end of 2021. If easyjet doesn't pay them anyway because the government does, why not just keep them officially employed and have qualified personnel once demand picks up?

Captain

That was an assumption when an Airline went bust, not a whole Industry. Customer Service roles are indeed transferable but probably three of them equals one Pilot.
If Easyjet reduce their fleet the 'easy' option is to reduce the manpower per aircraft. Come 2023 or whenever the Industry recovers then their will be Pilots and Engineers still out there.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong and my thoughts are with all Airline Staff particularly those where the Mgmt are going after T+C also

Douglas Bahada

it’s not going to be based on AOC but per country. Every country where easy has a base has very different legislation when it comes to redundancy. You cannot apply UK law to a crew based in Nice. And every country has different unions. And for the record, the crew contracts per country are all different in many aspects in every state.

FWIW as a piece of SLF, who's flight to TFS has not been cancelled yet ( ex LTN 18th June ) but sure will be, I can only make the following observation. Apart from my brother, who is cabin crew with a UK airline, I know of nobody in my family circle, friends nor business contacts who is contemplating flying as a passenger anytime soon, and probably not before this time next year. Why ? many reasons, first and foremost people are sceptical about avoiding COVID-19 whilst being transported in a sealed tube full of other people. They also wonder what awaits them 'on the other side' - are all the facilities open, is everywhere they want to visit open ? What if they become ill with the virus whilst overseas ?

the other consideration is that, travelling by air in general, has become a heavily regimented and time consuming procedure prior to boarding, understandably post 9/11. However, you can now add to the list, distancing, wearing of masks, not being able to consume food or drink on board, and having to 'put yer hand up' to use the loo. So air travel will no longer be any pleasure, but a chore for those that do not need to travel.

So what I am trying to say is, if all the people that I know , who generally take at least 1 overseas holiday per year and at least one continental 'city' break per annum, are not intersested in flying any time soon, then aviation and travel are going to be really badly affected for the forseeable future. Obviously attitudes will soften over time with confidence, and hopefully a viable treatment or vaccine, but I anticipate such a time will be at least a year in the coming. So all airlines are going to have to reduce their outgoings as a matter of urgency to survive. BALPA and co can complain all they want, but the ultimate 'boss' on this issue is the virus and the lack of passenger confidence that accompanies it.

Of course, I hope I am wrong !

PilotLZ

Much of EasyJet’s fleet isn’t even UK based so this is a worldwide issue and not a just a UK problem as you are hinting.

Norvernsuvna - I don't think you are wrong at all. The already unedifying process of 'flying' is going to get worse and I think that apart from those addicted to their week-in-the-sun come hell or high water, a very great many will be thinking the same as your friends and relations namely 'I simply cant' be bothered'.