British
Airways is planning to cut 1,000 jobs at Gatwick Airport over the next two
years, as part of a major restructure.
The
airline, which intends to reduce the number of destinations served by long haul
flights at London’s second airport from 43 to 25, has claimed the changes will
result in a phased reduction of around 1,000 jobs, from its 63,000 strong
workforce.
BA hopes
the cuts, which are due to take place over the next two years, will be made
through natural staff turnover, but will look at voluntary and early retirement
or transfer and retraining, if this is not possible.
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Rod
Eddington, chief executive of British Airways, said, “Gatwick is a key airport
in our home market and our activities there must operate on a sound financial
footing. Despite the best efforts of our team there, this has not previously
been possible to achieve.
“The steps
we are announcing today should improve our group profitability and ensure
British Airways has a long-term future as Gatwick’s leading airline.”