BAA, the main operator of Britain’s airports, is planning to cut about 2,000 jobs and aiming to sell one or more of its seven UK airports.
The firm, which was bought by Spanish firm Ferrovial last year, to streamline the services, company announced to reduce the workforce as part of a cost-cutting drive.
The cuts would be made across most departments, and that the operator had ordered a rigorous review of costs at each of its seven sites. Although it’s not an official report, yet it’s apparent that company will slash some of its workers.
The operator owns Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports and employs about 15,000 people worldwide, including 13,000 in Britain. About 5,000 of its British employees are security screeners. A further 2,000 work in World Duty Free shops, while another 1,000 work on airport operations, such as runway maintenance and inspections, and allocating stands to aircraft.
Sources cleared that the most cuts will affect the backroom operations, including finance, human resources and corporate communications. However security arrangement will not affect from it.
BAA is continuously receiving complaint from customers and can feature in the commission’s investigations. Company acknowledges the problem, and assures for the better services, as it’s planning to pump the savings from the cost cut drive into front-line customer services.
However, airlines are not happy with BAA’s decision and warned that cuts will further deteriorate the services and would be completely unacceptable to the traveling public. Airports are already facing shortage of man power and any proposed cut will intensify it.
Company’s previous services were not satisfactory enough as security lapses were apparent in the Glasgow terror incident. Company’s ability to handle unforeseen events are also put it in the dock as in December, fog engulfed Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Via: Forbes
