IT staff in the airline industry face a bleak winter as airlines
slash jobs following the slump in passenger demand triggered by
last month's terrorist attacks in the US.
Last week, hundreds of British Airways IT staff became the latest
economic victims of the US attacks, when the airline announced
7,000 job cuts across its business and a 10% reduction in
flights.
Although BA refused to comment on the number of IT staff affected
by the job cuts, sources close to the company said that about 150
full-time IT staff have been sacked.
BA has imposed a spending freeze on new hardware and software in
the wake of the US crisis. It is also reviewing suppliers' terms
and conditions.
The job losses cap a turbulent year for BA's IT staff. Last year
the company outsourced its airline reservation and departure
control service and overhauled its IT department, creating new
strategy and operations divisions.
Then this summer, BA announced it was to lay off 100 contractors to
reduce external IT spend. Some of the work carried out by the UK
contractors will be taken over by workers in India.
Concern over IT jobs extends throughout the sector. Swissair IT
staff face an uncertain future after the airline grounded its fleet
in the face of multi-billion-pound debts. And last month Virgin
Atlantic announced a 13% reduction in its workforce, with the loss
of 1,200 jobs.