London, June 18: British Airways (BA), which reported a record annual loss last month, has asked its staff to work for free as part of the company’s battle for “survival” in
The appeal to its British-based employees is to volunteer for between a week and a month in unpaid leave or unpaid work.
Chief executive Willie Walsh, who along with chief financial officer Keith Williams has promised to work for nothing in July, said the idea was part of BA’s across-the-board cost-cutting measures.
“Many of you from across the airline are stepping up to help the company,” Walsh said.
“I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company’s survival plan.”
BA, Europe’s third-biggest airline by revenue, posted annual operating losses of $362 million, scrapped its dividend in May, saying it had suffered a downturn in air travel, and forecast no immediate revival.
BA said 1,000 employees had volunteered to take part in a business response scheme launched at the time which allowed staff to take a month’s unpaid leave or to switch to part-time contracts.
Walsh, who earned £735,000 a year, was one of those to sign up.
The new measure, which is designed to be more flexible, would not be compulsory, but the company was encouraging staff to “play their part”, a spokeswoman said.
Other companies have launched similar schemes in response to the global aviation crisis, including Cathay Pacific, where most have signed up, BA said.
Last week, the company said it was in discussions with its pilots about taking pay cuts.
–Agencies