FIRST Choice is to expecting to make 1,100
redundancies, the latest in a line of job losses following on from the
September 11 suicide hijackings in the US.
The job loses account for around 10% of its workforce.
The company, which has already made some senior managers
redundant, is not the only tour operator to shed jobs. Airtours UKLG is making
100 people redundant in its retail network and tour operating businesses.
Thomson, meanwhile, is to make 300 job cuts at its
airline, Britannia, during 2002 following a review this summer. It is adamant
the losses are unrelated to the September 11 crisis.
The cuts at First Choice are expected to save the
company £20 million a year and will be broadly spread across the business. The
operator said the US crisis would cost the business £10 million by October 31,
the end of its financial year.
To cut costs further, the company’s UK and Ireland
division has reduced capacity for November 2001 through to January 2002 by 15%.
For summer 2002, it has reduced capacity by 20%. It is scaling down its summer
2002 air fleet from 32 to 26 aircraft.