Yahoo Finance Ryanair pilots agree to 20% pay cut in attempt to limit job losses
Ryanair pilots have agreed to take a 20% pay cut as part of efforts to avoid up to 3,000 job cuts at Europe’s biggest budget airline.
The pilots’ union Balpa announced on Wednesday that 96% of its Ryanair members had voted to accept the temporary pay cut in order to “save jobs that were under threat” due to the collapse in demand for flights in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a terrible time for aviation and for employees in all airlines,” Brian Strutton, Balpa’s general secretary said. “It was our members’ mandate for us to save as many jobs as possible. In the circumstances this is the right thing to do even if it means accepting difficult temporary reductions in pay.”
The pilots agreed to the pay cut deal hours after Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, made public an ultimatum that a total of 3,000 job losses could only be avoided if all staff agreed to pay cuts.
The deal with Ryanair’s pilots saves 260 jobs that were at risk. Ryanair had said a total of 330 pilot jobs were at risk. Negotiations with cabin crew and other staff continue, lower paid cabin crew have been asked to sacrifice 5% of their pay.
Earlier on Wednesday, O’Leary had said: “We’ve already announced about 3,000 job losses but we’re engaged in extensive negotiations with our pilots, our cabin crew and we’re asking them to all take pay cuts as an alternative to job losses.
“We’re looking from 20% from the best-paid captains, 5% from the lowest-paid flight attendants and we think if we can negotiate those pay cuts by agreement, we can avoid most but not all job losses.”
Ryanair did not immediately respond to the pilots agreeing to the pay cut deal.
“Following intensive negotiations between Balpa and Ryanair a package of cost savings was put together,” Balpa said. “Pilots have agreed to accept a 20% pay reduction in order to save 260 of the jobs that were at risk, with most of the rest linked to the possible base closures which is still to be resolved. We will remain in negotiations with the airline about those jobs and aim to protect those too.”
Related: EasyJet plans to cut 727 pilot jobs and close three UK bases
The union said Ryanair had agreed that pay will be restored to 100% over the next four years.
Strutton added: “We do not relish accepting pay cuts and this is going to be tough for many of our pilot members. But we are at least pleased to have ensured that the overwhelming number of pilots whose jobs were at risk will continue to be employed.”
The coronavirus lockdown has prompted some of the UK’s most prominent companies to announce large-scale job losses. The aviation, automotive and retail sectors have been among the worst hit, as businesses adjust to dramatically reduced revenue projections.
While the government’s job retention scheme has so far protected millions of jobs, fears are mounting that unemployment will rise as the scheme begins to be phased out from August.
Since lockdown began on 23 March, some of the UK’s largest companies have announced plans to cut a total of 60,000 jobs globally, many of which will fall in the UK.
Rolls-Royce - 9,000 jobs
The jet-engine manufacturer has confirmed that 3,000 job cuts, of a planned 9,000 worldwide, will be made in the UK. In May Rolls-Royce said it would make the first round of redundancies through a voluntary programme, with about 1,500 posts being lost at its headquarters in Derby, as well as 700 redundancies in Inchinnan, near Glasgow, another 200 at its Barnoldswick site in Lancashire, and 175 in Solihull, Warwickshire.
BP- 10,000 jobs
The oil company said in June it plans to make 10,000 people redundant worldwide, including an estimated 2,000 in the UK, by the end of the year. The BP chief executive, Bernard Looney, said that the majority of people affected would be those in office-based jobs, including at the most senior levels. BP said it would reduce the number of group leaders by a third, and protect the “frontline” of the company, in its operations.
Centrica- 5,000 jobs
The owner of British Gas announced in June that it intends to cut 5,000 jobs, mostly senior roles, and remove three layers of management, in a bid to simplify the structure of its business. The energy firm has a total workforce of 27,000, of whom 20,000 are in the UK.
Bentley- 1,000 jobs
The luxury carmaker intends to shrink its workforce by almost a quarter, slashing 1,000 roles through a voluntary redundancy scheme. The majority of Bentley’s 4,200 workers are based in Crewe in Cheshire.
Aston Martin Lagonda – 500 jobs
The Warwickshire-based luxury car manufacturer has announced 500 redundancies.
British Airways - 12,000 jobs
The UK flag carrier is holding consultations to make up to 12,000 of its staff redundant, a reduction of one in four jobs at the airline. BA intends to cut roles among its cabin crew, pilots and ground staff, while significantly reducing its operations at Gatwick airport.
Virgin Atlantic - 3,000-plus jobs
Richard Branson’s airline is to cut more than 3,000 jobs, more than a third of its workforce, and will shut its operations at Gatwick.
EasyJet – 4,500 jobs
The airline has announced plans to cut 4,500 employees, or 30% of its workforce.
Ryanair – 3,000 jobs
The Irish airline intends to slash 3,000 roles and reduce staff pay by up to a fifth.
Aer Lingus – 900 jobs
The Irish airline, part of International Airlines Group (IAG) plans to cut 900 jobs.
P&O Ferries – 1,100 jobs
The shipping firm intends to cut more than a quarter of its workforce, a loss of 1,100 jobs. The company, which operates passenger ferries between Dover and Calais, and across the Irish Sea, as well as Hull to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, will initially offer employees voluntary redundancy.
JCB – 950 jobs
Digger maker JCB said in May up to 950 jobs are at risk after demand for its machines halved due to the coronavirus shutdown.
Ovo Energy – 2,600 jobs
Britain’s second biggest energy supplier announced in May it planned to cut 2,600 jobs and close offices after the lockdown saw more of its customer service move online.
Johnson Matthey – 2,500 jobs
The chemicals company said in June it is planning to make 2,500 redundancies worldwide over the next three years. The move will affect 17% of the workforce at the firm, which is a major supplier of material for catalytic converters.
Bombardier – 600 jobs
The Canadian plane maker will cut 600 jobs in Northern Ireland, as part of 2,500 redundancies announced in June.
The Restaurant Group – 1,500 jobs
The owner of Tex-Mex dining chain Chiquito, and other brands including Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s, said in March that most branches of Chiquito and all 11 of its Food & Fuel pubs would not reopen after the lockdown, leading to the loss of 1,500 jobs.
Monsoon Accessorize – 345 jobs
The fashion brands were bought out of administration by their founder, Peter Simon, in June, in a deal which saw 35 stores close permanently and led to the loss of 545 jobs.
Clarks – 900 jobs
Clarks plans to cut 900 office jobs worldwide as part of a wider turnaround strategy
Oasis and Warehouse – 1,800 jobs
The fashion brands were bought out of administration by restructuring firm Hilco in April, in a deal which led to the permanently closure of all of their stores and the loss of more than 1,800 jobs.
Debenhams – 4,000 jobs
At least 4,000 jobs will be lost at Debenhams as a result of restructuring, following its collapse into administration in April, for the second time in a year.
Mulberry – 470 jobs
The luxury fashion and accessories brand said in June it is to cut 25% of its global workforce and has started a consultation with the 470 staff at risk.
Jaguar Land Rover – 1,100 jobs
The car firm is to cut 1,100 contract workers at manufacturing plants the UK, potentially affecting factories at Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull and Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands.
Travis Perkins – 2,500 jobs
The builders’ merchant is cutting 2,500 jobs in the UK, accounting for almost a 10th of its 30,000-strong workforce. The company, which is behind DIY retailer Wickes and Toolstation, said the job losses will affect staff in areas including distribution, administrative roles and sales. The move will also affect staff across 165 stores that are now earmarked for closure.
Swissport – 4,500 jobs
Swissport, which handles services such as passenger baggage and cargo for airlines has began a consultation process that is expected to result in 4,556 workers being made redundant, more than half of its 8,500 UK workforce.
Royal Mail - 2,000 jobs
Royal Mail has announced a cost-cutting plan that will involve slashing about 2,000 jobs. One in five of its near-10,000 management roles will go by March 2021, in areas including IT, finance, marketing and sales. The company’s 90,000 postal workers would not be affected by the cuts.
SSP Group - 5,000 jobs
The owner of Upper Crust and Caffè Ritazza is to axe 5,000 jobs, which represents about half of its workforce. The cuts will have an impact on staff at its head office and across its UK operations. It follows a dramatic fall in domestic and international travel, which has hit the company’s sites based at railway stations and airports.
O’Leary, who is chief executive of Ryanair’s holding company, initially took a 50% cut to his pay in April and May, and has extended this for this financial year until the end of March 2021.
On Wednesday, Ryanair began a “big ramp-up” of its schedule to 1,000 fights a day.
Eddie Wilson, who is chief executive of the group’s main airline, said: “At Ryanair we are doing everything we can to return to flying, so we can reunite friends and family, allow people to return to work and begin to restart Europe’s tourism industry, upon which millions of jobs, especially for young people, now depend.”
Ryanair has refused a Welsh government request to postpone flights scheduled to arrive in Cardiff starting on Friday, due to concerns that passengers could bring the coronavirus with them into Wales.
A flight from Málaga is due to land at the airport on Friday morning, and another from Faro, Portugal, on Friday evening.
A Ryanair spokesman said: “We are operating normally on 3 and 4 July with hundreds of Welsh people travelling home from countries with lower ‘R rates’ than the UK.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We don’t believe these flights should be going ahead.” People in Wales have been asked to stay local, within five miles, as guidance.
On Tuesday, easyJet said it planned to make as many as one in three of its pilots redundant. The airline plans to cut up to 727 pilot jobs and up to 1,200 cabin crew posts across the UK.
EasyJet started consultations with unions in the UK on Tuesday after announcing last month that it would be making about 4,500 staff redundant across Europe. It also plans to close its bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle airports.
On Wednesday, easyJet said it planned to reduce the number of aircraft and employees based in Berlin and had launched a consultation with unions.
“Although we will remain Berlin’s largest carrier, we have to adjust our schedule to reflect the demand following the pandemic and focus on profitable flying,” the chief executive, Johan Lundgren, said.
