Last checked at 
* BA has grounded most flights
* Joins industry move to suspend staff
* Has already cut pilot pay
* Owner IAG scraps final dividend
* https://tmsnrt.rs/3dM5LMR
(Adds dividend, context)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - British Airways is in
talks with its union about a plan to suspend around 32,000
staff, a person familiar with the situation said, marking one of
the industry's most dramatic moves yet to survive the
coronavirus pandemic.
Having already agreed a 50% pay cut for its pilots, the
British flag carrier is now nearing agreement on a deal to
suspend around 80% of its cabin and ground crew, engineers and
office staff to see it through the worst crisis in its history.
Owned by IAG, one of the largest and most financially robust
airline companies in the world, British Airways has already said
it is in a fight for survival.
"The deal is not done yet," the source said.
Separately, on Thursday IAG cancelled its final dividend,
saving 337 million euros ($366 million). The stock had risen on
the jobs plan, but was down 0.5% after the dividend decision.
Hundreds of companies across a range of sectors have
scrapped dividends to conserve cash, but the move by IAG marks a
particular blow for investors because it was the third highest
yielding stock by dividend on the UK's benchmark FTSE 100.
With planes unable to fly because of travel restrictions,
compounded by a plunge in demand over fears of contagion,
airlines worldwide have grounded most of their fleets, and many
have said they need government support to survive.
BA has joined the global industry race to conserve cash. In
recent weeks Qantas Airways put two-thirds of its
workforce - 20,000 workers - on leave, while Lufthansa applied
for short-time work for around 31,000 crew and ground staff at
its core brand until the end of August.
British budget airline easyJet has said it will lay
off its 4,000 UK-based cabin crew for two months.
U.S. airlines are set to receive $25 billion in grants to
cover payrolls over the next six months, but are still
encouraging workweek reductions, unpaid leave and early
retirement as they face more cancellations than bookings.
The companies are trying to avoid making staff redundant so
they can respond quickly to any increase in capacity when a
recovery comes.
BA has been in talks with the Unite union for a week. "Unite
has been working around the clock to protect thousands of jobs
and to ensure the UK comes out of this unprecedented crisis with
a viable aviation sector," a spokesman for the union said.
IAG, which owns 598 aircraft across its network which also
includes Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling, is cutting capacity by
75% in April and May. BA has already suspended flights from
Britain's second busiest airport, Gatwick, and London's City
Airport.
In Europe, more than 20,000 flights departed or landed on
Jan. 23. Two months later, after Italy emerged as an epicenter
for the virus and travel restrictions went into force, flights
dropped to fewer than 5,000 per day. https://tmsnrt.rs/3dM5LMR
Britain has launched a job retention scheme which covers 80%
of salary capped at a maximum of 2,500 pounds ($3,093) a month.
But some airlines including rival Virgin Atlantic have said they
will collapse if they do not get more help.
($1 = 0.9212 euros)
($1 = 0.8084 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Carmel Crimmins and Mark
Potter)
