BA management announces major company restructuring

Management at British Airways has informed staff that the airline will be significantly restructured in a manner that is “far-reaching, reshaping our company from top to bottom.”

Keith Williams, the carrier’s chief financial officer, released the announcement to employees in the BA staff newspaper.

“Only through delivering fundamental change can we achieve the small profit we are targeting this year and emerge from the crisis as a strong global player,” Williams said.

In the recent past, British Airways has cut its management ranks by 480 as a result of making voluntary redundancy available to 1,400 staff. Most of the managers taking advantage of this option left BA at the end of December.

A spokesman for the airline said that other measures were being considered to reduce costs and improve efficiency, in order to meet the economic challenges that are expected to continue through 2009.

“The previous year has been tough and the year ahead could be even tougher,” the CFO said.

At a London financial press briefing on Wednesday, BA’s CEO, Willie Walsh, said that he remained confident that the airline’s alliance with American Airlines would be approved by regulators, adding that the tie-up may occur by the time next winter’s timetable is set.

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www.britishairways.com