Heathrow has started formal consultations with staff that could see about 1,200 jobs lost if no agreement is reached with unions.
The airport has told unions it will seek pay cuts for thousands of workers because of the collapse in air travel amid the pandemic.
Sky News reported that Britain’s biggest airport could “axe a quarter of its frontline staff after months of talks with trade unions about employee pay and conditions failed to land an agreement”.
It is starting a 45-day consultation period with up to 4,700 of the airport’s engineers, airside operations and security staff, and is reported to be looking for pay cuts of 15% to 20%.
Unite says Heathrow’s plan “further undermines a vulnerable industry”.
The union has been holding “difficult negotiations” during August about pay cuts and is currently balloting members about proposals.
It said it has “deep concern” about reports the airport is to begin the formal process of “firing and rehiring workers on vastly inferior pay and conditions”.
Wayne King, Unite regional co-ordinating officer, said: “HAL’s [Heathrow Airport Limited] actions are extremely unhelpful and further undermine confidence in the industry.
“To conduct industrial relations via the media in such a brutish manner is designed to create fear and panic in a group of key workers.
“HAL’s actions demonstrate that it is not prepared to allow democracy to run its course.
“It should not be forgotten that HAL is an incredibly wealthy company. At the start of the pandemic it boasted of a £3.2 billion war chest. These attacks in pay are not about survival but introducing measures to boost future profits.
“Unite urges HAL to withdraw this ill-judged attack on its loyal workforce and to return to the negotiating table as had been previously agreed.”
The airport said in a statement: “Covid-19 has decimated the aviation industry which has led to an unprecedented drop in passenger numbers at Heathrow, costing the airport over £1 billion since the start of March.
“Provisional traffic figures for August show passenger numbers remain 82% down on last year and we must urgently adapt to this new reality.
“Discussions with our unions have taken place over four months and our final offer is informed by feedback we have received from them.
“But with air travel showing little sign of recovery, these discussions cannot go on indefinitely and we must act now to prevent our situation from worsening.
“We have now started a period of formal consultation with our unions on our offer, which still guarantees a job at the airport for anyone who wishes to stay with our business.”