Jobs at risk as Virgin Atlantic cuts flights
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Virgin Atlantic has said it will cut back on winter services, with as many as 600 jobs under threat, according to a BBC report. The UK-based carrier will stop its daily Heathrow to Chicago service, as well as suspending one of its two daily London to Hong Kong flights. Total capacity will be 7% lower than in winter 2008/09, it added. As a result, Virgin said it would start consulting with staff over the possibility of up to 600 redundancies, although it hopes to avoid compulsory job losses. The company employs about 8,500 people worldwide.
The move comes as a surprise as Virgin Atlantic has been performing better than many airlines since the onset of the global economic crisis. In May the carrier reported a sharp rise in profits in the year to the end of February, with annual pre-tax profits reaching GBP68.4 million (US$109 million), nearly double the GBP34.8 million seen in the year earlier.
However, Virgin said that it was clear that economy was not picking up.
“Forward bookings are down on last year, and there is less demand,” the airline’s Director of Communications, Paul Charles, was reported saying. “People are still travelling but they are not paying enough for their seats, and you can’t make money in this climate.”
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