British Airways is planning to outsource 450 jobs undertaken by employees it’s making redundant, according to reports.
The Guardian has claimed the proposals threatens ticketing services, returning lost baggage to passengers and planning the balance of weight in the plane, known as centralised load control.
Jim McMahon, the shadow transport secretary, said, “The government should have done more to protect these jobs. We cannot see roles which are currently paid through the job retention scheme outsourced.”
Load control is currently carried out by teams in offices in London and Prague. The services in the Czech Republic are currently run by Air Dispatch, a third-party supplier who would become a contender for more outsourcing work.
The outsourcing and potential offshoring proposals come despite owners International Airlines Group receiving British government support worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
IAG has borrowed £300 million from the Bank of England’s COVID corporate finance facility.
The government is paying 80 per cent of the salaries of 30,000 furloughed BA workers, support worth £35 million to the company in April alone.
Nadine Houghton, national officer for the GMB union, which represents some BA workers, said, “BA’s actions so far have been deeply cynical and opportunistic. Taking taxpayer money through furlough and COVID loans and then offshoring hundreds of jobs to other countries is about as unpatriotic as you can get. This behaviour from our national flag-carrier is unacceptable.”
A BA spokesman said, “We are acting now to protect as many jobs as possible. The airline industry is facing the deepest structural change in its history, as well as facing a severely weakened global economy.
“We are committed to consulting openly with our unions and our people as we prepare for a new future.”
The airline is also considering closing its operation at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 completely and reducing its footprint at other terminals.
Terminal 3, operates BA short-haul routes across Europe and long-haul destinations including Cape Town and Miami. It carried about 15 per cent of BA’s Heathrow traffic before the pandemic shut it down possibly for good.
