By Eric Elezuo
Renowned aviation giants, Virgin Atlantic, has announced that it will be reducing its workforce by a whopping 3, 150 among other sweeping changes to cope with the devastating effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Making the announcement today via a letter signed simply Shai, and titled COVID-19 Update: May 5, 2020 14.00 BST, the company said that “Following the pattern of previous crises such as 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis, capacity across the aviation industry will significantly reduce, with recovery to pre-crisis levels expected to take up to three years”.
Consequently, it noted inter alia that
“In order to survive, regrettably we must reduce the number of people we employ Even in these toughest of times, our incredible people remain our secret sauce, and what sets us apart. The decisions we have taken were meant to preserve as many jobs as possible. I wish it was not the case, but we will have to materially reduce the number of people we can employ. Today we’re announcing a planned reduction of 3,150 jobs, across all functions, as well as aligning and simplifying our terms of employment. You have all made brave decisions in support of this Company, putting Virgin Atlantic ahead of yourselves, but to safeguard our future, we must go further.
“After 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis, we had to take similar painful measures but fortunately many members of our team were back flying with us within a couple of years. Depending on how long the pandemic lasts and the period of time our planes are grounded for, hopefully the same will happen this time.
“We plan on consolidating our facilities in Crawley into either The Base or VHQ and intend to relocate our people in Engineering and Cargo to London Heathrow, to be closer to their colleagues and our joint venture partners.
“A company-wide consultation period of 45 days begins immediately and is expected to conclude by end of June.
“In parallel, we will work collaboratively with BALPA and Unite to unlock significant productivity gains with our Pilots and Cabin Crew, with an unwavering commitment to their safety and wellbeing. Changes to my leadership team will follow at the start of 2021, once we have restarted operations safely, and successfully implemented these changes. From today, the senior leadership team will be holding briefings to provide more detail on the specific impact on teams and individuals. Please send any questions you have to your leaders and managers and they will be answered as quickly as possible.”
Virgin Atlantic is British second largest carrier.
Below is the full statement in PDF
