LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - British Airways is due to make
an unspecified number of pilots redundant according to UK pilot
union BALPA, as the airline seeks to reduce its costs to try
survive the coronavirus crisis.
The CEO of BA, owned by IAG, said on Friday that
the carrier was in a battle for survival and that it would have
to make job losses but did not give details.
BALPA said in a statement on Tuesday that it was reassured
that BA was working with it to avoid compulsory dismissals, but
that redundancies were nevertheless disappointing.
"While we do not underestimate the magnitude of the problem
facing BA and other airlines we are extremely disappointed that
a company like BA with a strong balance sheet and cash reserves
has rushed into redundancy consultation," said BALPA General
Secretary Brian Strutton.
BA has 45,000 staff including 3,900 pilots according to its
website. The airline did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by James Davey)