1,200 jobs at risk after BA given green light to stage bmi takeover

UP to 140 jobs are under threat at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports as part of 1,200 potential losses UK-wide following the takeover of bmi by British Airways.

BA yesterday began consultations with unions on proposals to merge the bmi business with its operations at Heathrow Airport after the £172.5 million acquisition was approved by the European Commission last month.

Most of the cabin crew, customer service and engineering positions involved in Scotland are at Edinburgh Airport although a small number of jobs at Glasgow Airport are also likely to be affected.

Bmi’s head office at Castle Donington in Derbyshire is likely to bear the brunt of the cuts, but BA stressed that without the acquisition all 2,700 jobs at bmi – which is losing £3m a week – could have been lost.

BA also said the jobs of 1,100 cabin crew, pilots and engineers at Heathrow and up to 400 passenger service roles at Heathrow’s Terminal One have been secured.

It will also look to create a number of jobs at its engineering facility in Glasgow from January 2014 when the current contract for bmi aircraft heavy maintenance work expires.

Unions expressed dismay at the scale of the job cuts and said they would try to mitigate the losses.

BA chief executive Keith Williams said: “Bmi is heavily loss-making and is not a viable business as it stands today. As we look to restructure the business and restore profitability, job losses are deeply regrettable but inevitable.

“We will work with the unions to explore as many options as possible and are already working with industry partners.”

Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said: “Bmi’s future has been secured, but we are very saddened at the scale of the job losses being proposed.

“Unite will be fighting to maintain as many jobs as possible and ensure that, where vacancies exist, people can be placed into suitable roles within BA.”

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the pilots’ union Balpa, said: “Our hearts go out to the large number of bmi HQ-based staff who appear to have borne the brunt of this announcement, but each job loss is a personal tragedy.

“We will be pressing for maximum redeployment opportunities for all bmi pilots inside BA.”

Excluding the Aberdeen-based bmi regional business, which runs commuter jets between smaller airports, and budget airline bmibaby – where discussions with potential buyers of both are still continuing – bmi carried three million passengers in 2011.

On gaining EC approval for the deal, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company International Airlines Group, said that it was “great news for Britain”.

But the takeover has been bitterly opposed by Sir Richard Branson’s airline, Virgin Atlantic, which has complained it gives BA too strong a presence at Heathrow.

Under the takeover by IAG, which also includes Spanish carrier Iberia, the BA owner agreed to give up a number of bmi’s take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, including routes to Edinburgh, Nice, Cairo and Moscow.

BA had announced on Wednesday that hundreds of its workers at Gatwick Airport are set to lose their jobs or be transferred to another company under cost-saving plans.

Around 400 workers, including baggage handlers, will see their jobs outsourced, while 170 customer service staff and management support employees will be laid off under the proposals.