Gatwick to cut 600 jobs – almost a quarter of workers due to coronavirus
GATWICK Airport has announced plans to cut 600 jobs, around a quarter of its workforce, due to the coronavirus crisis.
The airport is the latest business in the travel industry to propose job cuts as the sector continues to be crippled by holiday restrictions.
The planned redundancies at Gatwick, which is the second largest airport in the UK, would amount to around 24% of its entire workforce.
The London-based airport says passengers numbers for August are more than 80% down compared to this time last year.
Fewer people are going away due to ongoing travel restrictions and quarantine measures that have been put in place.
It means holidays have been thrown into chaos, with the government warning that more countries could be added to their quarantine list if coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Holiday hotspots including have already been added to this list, meaning anyone returning to the UK from these places must quarantine for 14 days.
Coronavirus job cuts in the travel industry
THE travel industry has been severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
As less people head abroad, many airlines have announced plans to cut jobs to offset their profit losses.
- British Airways announced plans to cut around 12,000 members of staff. In addition, the airline wants to switch remaining workers onto lower paid contracts.
- Ryanair confirmed that up to 3,250 jobs could be slashed while staff face 20 per cent pay cuts.
- TUI warned 8,000 jobs could go, which would amount to 30% of its entire workforce.
- easyJet announced plans to axe around 5,000 jobs. The airline is also shutting its bases at London Stansted, Southend and Newcastle Airport.
- Virgin Atlantic said it plans on cutting 3,150 jobs after owner Sir Richard Branson said the airline could fall into adminstration without a government bailout.
- Jet2 is making 102 pilots redundant after talks aimed at saving jobs failed.
- Flybe collapsed into administration on March 5. The airline had been losing money for several months but coronavirus was understood to have had a severe impact on bookings.
The pandemic forced Gatwick to close its North Terminal on March 27, with the terminal reopening on June 15.
Its South Terminal remains temporarily closed, and the airport says its running at around 20% capacity.
The update today comes after the airport previously warned it could be four years before numbers are back to normal.
At its summer peak, Gatwick would usually expect more than 4,000 passengers an hour to pass through.
What are my redundancy rights?
BEFORE making you unemployed, your employer should still carry out a fair redundancy process.
You are entitled to be consulted on the redundancy lay-off first and to receive a statutory redundancy payment, as long as you've been working somewhere for at least two years.
How much you're entitled to depends on your age and length of service, although this is capped at 20 years. You'll get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22,
- One week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41,
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older.
Sadly, you won't be entitled to a payout if you've been working for your employer for fewer than two years.
There should be a period of collective consultation as well as time for individual ones if your employer wants to make 20 or more employees redundant within 90 days or each other.
You are also entitled to appeal the decision by claiming unfair dismissal within three months of being let go.
Gatwick says it has already implemented cost-cutting measures to protect the business, including securing a £300million bank loan.
The company will now enter into a formal consultation process with affected employees.
Gatwick couldn't tell The Sun which departments would likely be affected, or when it expects to make any redundancies.
This process is expected to be completed by October, a spokesperson told this newspaper.
Around 75% of Gatwick employees are still on furlough, although the government scheme is due to finish in October.
In total, Gatwick employs around 2,500 members of staff.
Gatwick is the latest travel company to announce job cuts following the spread of Covid-19.
Ryanair has said it plans to axe 3,250 jobs, while British Airways has warned it needs to cut 12,000 jobs.
TUI have also confirmed proposals to cut 8,000 roles.
Gatwick Airport chief executive officer, Stewart Wingate said: "If anyone is in any doubt about the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on the aviation and travel industry then today’s news we have shared with our staff, regarding the proposed job losses, is a stark reminder.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, those who have worked tirelessly to keep Gatwick open throughout the pandemic and those who have had to remain on furlough, for their dedicated tenacity, professionalism and team spirit.
"We will continue to do all we can to preserve as many jobs as possible."
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