Over 6,000 British Airways staff have accepted voluntary redundancy as the airline moves to tell over thousand other cabin crew and ground staff whether or not they will keep their jobs or face pay cuts. The airline is looking to make up to 12,000 job cuts to slash costs as the Covid -19 pandemic continues to hit the travel market.
Staff will be told they are either being made redundant, which means they do have a role but will have to sign a new contract, or that they will continue in the same role with the same contract. Staff that are being made redundant will have the option of entering the airline's priority return talent pool and will be fast-tracked into any new roles that become available. The move has been condemned by unions who have dubbed it “fire and rehire”.
MPs on the Commons transport select committee labelled British Airways “a national disgrace” for making a “calculated attempt to take advantage of the pandemic” to try to slash its staff terms and conditions. A spokesperson for British Airways said, “Our half-year results clearly show the enormous financial impact of Covid on our business. We are having to make difficult decisions and take every possible action now to protect as many jobs as possible. And, while we never could have anticipated being in a position of making redundancies, more than 6,000 of our colleagues have now indicated that they wish to take voluntary redundancy from BA.”
