Two Thousand Set To Lose Out As BAA Announce UK Cutbacks

BAA, operator of major airports throughout the UK, has today announced its decision to lay off staff from its sites across the country in accordance with its recent review on efficiency.

Whilst roles in security and customer care would not be sacrificed, the potential losses, which according to some reports could amount to 2,000, could fall anywhere else within the organization.

BAA is the largest airport operator in the UK, running airports in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton, in addition to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead, with the intention to sell at least one of these sites to another operator within the next year.

Today’s announcement failed to make a significant impact on stock market trading, despite widespread opposition from trade unions, branding the move as ‘illogical’, in search of short term profitability over long term stability.

However, a recent internal survey conducted by BAA revealed widespread inefficiency throughout the operation, and suggested that up to 2,000 jobs could go in order to reduce mounting labour costs and provide shareholders with a more streamlined investment opportunity.

However, BAA were quick to justify their decision to cutback, citing operational efficiency amongst other business reasons for their plans.

“It’s not simply about costs. It’s about building a much leaner and more efficient business”, said a spokesperson from BAA, in the same breath as the company refused to acknowledge the 2,000 figure quotes.

After high profile concern over staffing shortages at the UKs major airports from the media and politicians, as well as the airlines themselves, the decision to lose yet more staff has surprised some analysts.

However, a spokesperson from Virgin Atlantic, a major BAA client, said that staffing numbers have indeed been overly heavy, and the losses would not be reflected in the level of customer experience when using BAA airports.

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