Richard Bransons Virgin Atlantic will make a third of its staff redundant as it looks to survive the drop-off in world travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The long-haul airline has told staff on Tuesday that more than 3,150 jobs out of its total workforce of around 10,000 will be cut as it continues to seek a government rescue loan.
READ: Virgin Atlantic will not survive without government support, Branson says[hhmc]
Virgin Atlantic, in which Bransons Virgin Group owns a 51% stake, said it hopes to return to flying around 60% of its pre-pandemic capacity by the end of this year.
The airline said it will no longer fly out of Gatwick airport and will reduce the size of its Boeing 747 fleet to 35 from 45 by summer 2022.
“This is another terrible blow for the industry and is evidence of the dire situation facing UK aviation,” said pilots union Balpa.
Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: “Our members and all staff in Virgin Atlantic will be shocked by the scale of this bombshell. We will be challenging Virgin very hard to justify this.”
READ: Ryanair boss says Virgin Atlantic owner trying to fleece taxpayers[hhmc]
In a statement, Virgin Atlantic said the planned job cuts were meant to “reshape and resize our business to ensure that is it fit for the future, in response to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, our nation and the travel and aviation industry”.
Last month, after reports that the company and the government could not agree on the terms of a loan, Branson who has an estimated fortune of more than £4bn, said Virgin Atlantic will collapse unleRead More – Source
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