EasyJet pilots have passed an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the airline’s management over plans to cut more than 700 pilot jobs.
More than 2,000 pilots backed the no-confidence vote in easyJet chief operations officer Peter Bellew in a ballot organised by pilots’ union Balpa this week.
EasyJet plans more than 2,000 job cuts in the UK and intends to axe up to 30% of its workforce across Europe.
Announcing the result, Balpa said: “This result shows there is a serious and widening rift between easyJet pilots and the airline’s senior management.”
The union criticised the carrier for “poor handling of the fall-out from the coronavirus crisis and the collapse in pilot morale following Bellew’s appointment and actions earlier this year”.
It noted the “expression of disapproval in the direction and management of the business is unprecedented in easyJet” and said “trust in the senior management team has completely broken down”.
Bellew joined easyJet from Ryanair in January.
Balpa represents 90% of easyJet’s 2,300 pilots in the UK. EasyJet is proposing to make 727 redundant.
The carrier also plans to close its bases at Newcastle, Southend and Stansted.
Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said “Pilot morale in easyJet has collapsed.
“We have yet to see any justification for the scale of job losses easyJet has proposed. EasyJet is in a serious industrial relations mess. ”
The union has previously warned the carriers’ proposals “could undermine key flight safety principles” after pilot representatives said they were told that those at risk of redundancy could be judged on their sickness records.
EasyJet denied it would include sickness records among the criteria for selecting staff for redundancy.
Balpa noted the carrier has taken a £600 million loan under the UK government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to furlough 80% of its UK pilots.
It also noted easyJet paid a £174 million dividend to shareholders in March.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “We call on Balpa to focus on working constructively with us rather than on personal attacks.”