UK's flagship airlines, British Airways, is laying off nearly 12,000 of its employees as a part of the proposed restructuring policy at the UK carrier amid the baleful impact of the coronavirus crisis on the global aviation industry.
British Airways has formally notified its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
"The proposals remain subject to consultation but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways' employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them," the airline's parent company IAG said in a statement.
"As previously announced, British Airways has availed itself of the UK's Covid-19 job retention scheme and furloughed 22,626 employees in April." the statement added
Coronavirus impact on airlines industry
With restricted air travel around the world, flights are grounded in airports. The airlines industry is among the worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused airlines to layoff its employees or cut their salaries just to stay in the businesses.
British Airways' parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group, posted an operating loss of €535 million ($579 million) in the first three months of the year, compared with a profit of €135 million in the same quarter a year ago. But the airline's fears are only about to worsen as the next quarter will be "significantly worse," IAG said.
According to BBC, British Airways has about 4,500 pilots and 16,000 cabin crew. The airlines have already put almost 23,000 staff on furlough.
BA isn't the only airline to have taken the unfavourable choice of letting go of its employees. Other global airlines, including Qantas, Air Canada, Norwegian Air, and American Airlines had to take drastic measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
