BAA jobs to go despite profit rise
Airports operator BAA said it will axe 700 jobs, almost 6 per cent of its workforce, despite posting a 5 per cent increase in half-year pre-tax profits.
The business, which operates seven of Britain’s airports, posted pre-tax profit up 5.2 per cent to £366m, on sharply increased sales, up 6.4 per cent, of £1.2bn. It said the increased profits were attributable to a 2.5 per cent increase in passenger numbers, a rise in airline tariffs and improved retail performance.
CEO Mike Clasper said: “We have delivered this performance despite a slowing British economy and the impact of this summer’s London bombings and the Gate Gourmet dispute.”
He added: “These results demonstrate the strength of our business, our assets and our management.”
BAA, which has a workforce of 12,000, said it plans to make the cuts by the end of the 2007/8 financial year. Most of the cuts will come from back office and middle management positions.
A BAA spokesman said: “There will inevitably be some redundancies. This move is about getting the best managers working more closely to the airports they are responsible for.”
The move is part of BAA’s Delivering Excellence programme, which involves spending £8.5bn building Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and a new terminal at Stansted Airport.
The Transport & General Workers’ Union, which represents BAA workers, say the job cuts came as news to them.
National secretary Brendan Gold said: “It does give us cause for concern that a company like BAA has by-passed normal consultation and told 700 staff they have an uncertain future.”
The company owns 64 duty-free shops across the country, and receives fees from retailers for developing, marketing and managing these shops.
BAA said it benefited from passengers spending more time in airport shops because check-in times had become quicker. Finance director Margaret Ewing said the company’s full-year pre-tax profits would be between £580m and £650m.
