British Airways needs to reduce costs
Last week's revelation that British Airways made a loss of £400 million for the 12 months to March 2009 has shocked many in the city. While it has been clear for some time that the likes of British Airways were struggling under the UK recession, and the worldwide recession, a company which has turned a £1 billion profit last year into a £400 million loss obviously needs urgent attention.
One of the main concerns at this moment in time is the fact that while jobs have been slashed across the workforce the company has announced plans for a further £200 million cost-cutting exercise. After a number of middle management lost their jobs it appears it is the turn of the check-in staff, cabin crew and engineers to come under close to me. With a workforce of over 40,000 the company has plenty of numbers to play with and we can expect some disappointing news in the short to medium term.
The fact the company does not believe the situation will improve in the short term also lends more strength to the argument that we may even see additional cost cuts above the £200 million figure announced. Times are very hard and companies such as British Airways are finding it harder than most.
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