bmi to cut 600 jobs by Christmas

The airline carrier bmi is cutting down at least 600 jobs, scraping unprofitable routes, and reducing its fleet to help the company ride the economic downturn and falling passenger demand. Owner of bmi, German carrier Lufthansa AG, who took over the airline in July, said that the job cuts are part of the restructuring plan in an effort to lessen costs and to boost the company’s productivity.

One of the country’s biggest unions, Unite, said that the short notice of job cuts, just one month before Christmas, shows the unsympathetic side of bmi.

However, Lufthansa informed that it supports the restructuring plans of bmi and hopes that the carrier will expand gradually when the economy recovers. Meanwhile, General Secretary Jim McAuslan of BALPA, a union of British airline pilots, understands the company’s situation and is now working closely with bmi to minimize compulsory job cuts.

The UK airliner is the second biggest carrier at Heathrow Airport in London and has 4,500 employees. bmi was badly hit by the recent economic downturn, volatile fuel prices, intense competition with other carriers and weaker passenger demand. Other airline industries across the UK are also facing the same challenges.

bmi is scheduled to reduce the number of its aircraft servicing by nine from the current 39. It will also suspend flights from London Heathrow to Brussels, Tel Aviv, Kiev and Aleppo by 2010. All flights to Amsterdam from London will end in March as well. Meanwhile, the carrier’s seasonal flights to Palma from Heathrow will not resume until next summer.