A national disgrace: MPs’ damning verdict on British Airways’ job cuts

British Airways has been branded “a national disgrace” by MPs after being accused of using the pandemic as an excuse to shed 12,000 staff.

The Commons Transport Select Committee accused the airline of a “calculated attempt to take advantage” of the Covid-19 crisis.

Some staff have until tomorrow to agree to new employment contracts – including massive pay cuts – or face losing their jobs. The airline insists no decisions have been made and it is doing everything it can to sustain the maximum number of jobs as other airlines also announce redundancies.

One long-haul cabin crew member from Glasgow, who has spent almost 25 years with BA, said the strain on staff has been “intolerable”. He added: “BA once commanded respect around the world and we stayed because it was more than just a job – we were proud to be a member of the team.

“But all our years of loyalty have been repaid by betrayal and greed. BA management have taken advantage of the downturn due to Covid-19 as a smokescreen to implement job cuts and drive down wages when it’s clear the firm is not struggling – with those who have served the company the longest being treated worst of all.

“These plans have been in the pipeline for some time, but it’s only now – under the guise of Covid – that BA are aggressively pushing ahead with them, while other airlines are seeing a keen interest in getting the industry restarted once the virus has lifted.”

The airline’s 45-day consultation period for some workers ends tomorrow with 22,000 already furloughed. Chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, Willie Walsh, told MPs last month that the amount of money the airline received from the scheme in April was equivalent to less than two days of staff wages.

But the transport committee report states BA’s behaviour “falls well below the standards we would expect from any employer, especially in light of the scale of taxpayer subsidy, at this time of national crisis.”

Tory MP Huw Merriman, said: “This wanton destruction of a loyal workforce cannot go without sanction by government, parliamentarians or paying passengers. We view it as a national disgrace.”

British Airways said: “The facts are clear. The government has no plans to help the sector recover, as evidenced by the introduction of the 14-day quarantine regulation.

“We will do everything in our power to ensure British Airways can survive and sustain the maximum number of jobs consistent with the new reality of a changed airline industry in a severely weakened global economy.”