BA’s takeover of Bmi to result in “up to 1,200 redundancies”

British Airways has opened a consultation with unions for full integration of the airline into BA’s operations at Heathrow, admitting that the deal could result in up to 1,200 job losses. The carrier says that Bmi is losing £3 million per week, and says that without its acquisition of Bmi, which was given approval by the European Commission last month, the airline was “facing closure with the potential loss of all 2,700 UK based jobs”. BA says its consultation proposes “the full integration of Bmi mainline into British Airways securing approximately 1,500 jobs”, but warns that it could result in up to 1,200 redundancies. Around 1,100 Bmi cabin crew, pilots and engineers would be transferred to British Airways, and up to 400 passenger service jobs would be secured at Heathrow T1. The majority of redundancies would come from roles based at Bmi’s head office at Castle Donnington, and at regional airports. BA said the consultation “will seek to reduce the number and mitigate the impact of the proposed redundancies, including the potential to offer vacancies within British Airways at Heathrow”, and added that it was looking at “potential job opportunities with industry partners in the Midlands, such as Rolls-Royce”, as well as potential jobs at its engineering facility in Glasgow from January 2014. CEO Keith Williams said that “job losses are deeply regrettable but inevitable”, adding that “This deal is good news for our customers and will offer new destinations, new routes and new schedules in due course”. The European Commission approved BA’s purchase of Bmi in late March, subject to several conditions including the relinquishing of 14 pairs of slots at Heathrow (see online news March 30). The deal is expected to be completed by April 20. For more information visit ba.com. Report by Mark Caswell