British Airways has announced another 5,800 job cuts in a plan to cut annual costs by £650m sterling and put the airline back on course for profitability.
BA is hurtling towards its biggest financial loss since it was privatised 15 years ago, as it struggles to cope with a slump in demand for air travel after September 11 and with increased competition from budget carriers.
The new layoffs take total job cuts announced by BA since the September attacks to 13,000 - almost a quarter of the airline's total workforce.
BA said it would restructure its own short-haul operations to compete with the budget carriers, and said it would take restructuring charges of £200m over two years, in part to fund the additional layoffs.
BA announced that a further eight routes would transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow by this summer. By the summer of 2003, BA's capacity at Gatwick will have reduced by 60% since 1999. The airline also plans to cut a further 10 routes - five long haul and five short haul - which will be announced after consultations have been completed.
