More than 1,000 additional jobs are reportedly due to be cut by Virgin Atlantic despite sealing a £1.2 billion rescue deal.
A further trimming of the workforce could be announced as early as today (Friday) less than four months after 3,150 jobs were lost alongside the closure of the airline’s base at Gatwick.
If confirmed, the latest round of cuts would mean that Virgin Atlantic’s workforce would have almost halved from its pre-pandemic level of about 10,000 people, Sky News reported.
The carrier could opt to retain some of the staff being made redundant in a ‘holding pool’ if passenger demand recovers swiftly, in line with those affected by May’s workforce restructuring.
In a statement announcing that the UK courts had approved the company’s solvent recapitalisation, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Achieving this significant milestone puts Virgin Atlantic in a position to rebuild its balance sheet, restore customer confidence and welcome passengers back to the skies, safely, as soon as they are ready to travel.”
A US court added its backing to the restructuring on Thursday, with creditors having overwhelmingly backed the proposals last month.
US bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles in Manhattan said he would sign an order recognising the UK plan after lawyers made two technical changes to the legal wording.
Additional routes will be added throughout 2020 followed by a “further, gradual recovery through 2021 in line with customer demand,” according to the carrier.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson declined to comment on the latest jobs speculation.
