Tui Travel and Thomas Cook are looking to shed hundreds of jobs in the UK – but frontline agents will be spared the axe.
Both firms confirmed their intention to cuts costs this week, including jobs, after what was described as a tougher-than-expected summer trading period.
Travel Weekly understands Tui wants to lose 300 jobs at its Coventry and Luton head offices, although it would not confirm that figure. However, in a statement, it did confirm it had notified staff this week of a voluntary redundancy scheme.
It said: “Having successfully delivered significant synergy benefits since the merger [with First Choice] three years ago, the business is entering a new phase in its development.
“The global economic climate continues to be challenging, and there will always be external factors, such as the ash crisis, that are beyond our control. However, a low-cost base means the business can maintain profitability even when faced with unexpected events.”
A Thomas Cook spokeswoman admitted that while there would be job losses in the UK operation, the numbers were likely to be in the “hundreds” rather than the “thousands”.
She said the jobs of frontline staff had been “ringfenced” against loss, with many of the cuts targeted at backroom staff, while it is hoped the impact can be minimised by natural wastage.
She said this was just one way the company was seeking to minimise its losses and the operator would also be reviewing its IT, property and supplier costs, which is already under way following its controversial move to cut payments for August and September to hoteliers globally by 5%.
She added the current costs review was not just a result of an expected drop of £10 million in the underlying group operating profit but also because of fears over the economic outlook.