This is really a massive impact of coronavirus crisis as whopping 12,000 employees of British Airways may soon lose their jobs. British Airways has formally notified its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy programme. Nearly 12,000 employees of British Airways could lose their jobs in a proposed restructuring policy at the UK carrier amid the baleful impact of the coronavirus crisis on the global aviation industry, as per a report in IANS quoting BBC.
 
The carrier, which has approximately 45,000 employees including around 4,000 pilots and 16,500 cabin crew, has already furloughed nearly 23,000 staff.
 
"The proposals remain subject to consultation but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways' employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them," the airline's parent company IAG said in a statement.
 
Moreover, news agency AFP too has reported that British Airways is set to slash up to 12,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan as the carrier grapples with the fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
 
Passenger demand will take "several years" to return to 2019 levels, it added. Shares in International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns Iberia and Vueling, lost 2.2 percent as preliminary results showed that first quarter revenue fell by 13 percent to 4.6 billion euros (USD 4.9 billion).
 
The group's operating result before exceptional items came in at a loss of 535 million euros, compared with a profit of 135 million last year, with the second quarter expected to be worse.
IAG said it had reduced passenger capacity for April and May by 94 percent compared with the same period last year.
 
BA chief executive Alex Cruz warned last month of consequences for the airline after the coronavirus pandemic gutted demand.  Recent weeks have seen it operating flights only for essential travel and repatriation of tourists marooned abroad.

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