British Airways has given thousands of cabin crew, ground staff and engineers less than three weeks to accept redundancy or reapply for a job on substantially reduced pay.
BA presented the choice to staff in notices sent out this week after dismissing alternative proposals presented by union officials.
The carrier aims to cut up to 12,000 jobs from a workforce of 42,000, with the Unite union accusing it of pursuing a policy to ‘fire and rehire’ staff.
BA has acknowledged it wants cuts in basic pay of 20%, increased flexibility and the amalgamation of three existing cabin crew fleets on common pay and conditions.
This would see the removal of a large slice of flight pay and other allowances which Unite says make up a “substantial” amount of take-home pay for cabin crew.
A spokesperson for BA said: “We’re facing the biggest crisis in the history of aviation and have to accept we now have a very different future.
“BA has no right to exist and if we do not adapt quickly our survival is not guaranteed.
“After more than 78 days of talks with our staff we are beginning the next phase of the consultation process.
“We have continually asked Unite and the GMB to work with us to help reduce the need for job losses. We remain fully committed to collective consultation and even at this late stage hope the unions will join us to help save jobs.”
BA first gave notice of the redundancies in late April and insists the changes it wants “are absolutely necessary”.
It claims more than 40% of cabin crew will see a pay rise.
An aviation source said: “The need for action is urgent. BA is still barely flying. It is burning through £20 million a day. The US remains closed.”
The source confirmed the choice for staff is to take redundancy or accept reduced pay and changed conditions and said: “BA will be a smaller airline.”
Unions describe the redundancy packages on offer as “modest” and say staff have been given until the end of the month to apply for redundancy or for a new, lower-paid job.
Those made redundant are scheduled to leave BA on August 31.
However political pressure on BA is growing. A Unite petition calling for BA to lose its grip on more than half the landing slots at Heathrow unless it halts the ‘fire and rehire’ strategy has been signed by 150 MPs.
Labour leader Keir Starmer attacked BA in the Commons this week, and Huw Merriman, Conservative chairman of the transport select committee of MPs has repeatedly urged the government to take action against BA.
Transport minister Kelly Tolhurst promised a review of the allocation of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow last month.
BA workers in the northwest staged a demonstration at Manchester Airport on Thursday with the support of Labour’s shadow aviation minister Mike Kane MP.
The airline closed its Manchester base in 2007, but many long-haul cabin crew remain in the northwest and commute to Heathrow to work.