British Airways, Europe's third-largest airline, is eyeing a 15 percent cut in staff over several years as part of its move into a single new terminal at London's Heathrow Airport, a source said Sunday.
"A figure has not been put on any job losses, but a 15 percent reduction of the work force is a reasonable bet," a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
BA, which employs 46,000 workers, is scheduled to move operations to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008.
A BA spokesman reiterated the airline was targeting a 300 million pound ($529.8 million) reduction in labour costs by March 2007, but declined to comment on specific staff numbers.
"We have not made a secret of the fact we need to take more costs from our business," the spokesman said. "We have not ruled out more job losses but there are other ways to reduce labour costs."
Labour issues will be a top priority for the airline's new Chief Executive Willie Walsh who took over from former boss Rod Eddington over the weekend.
The Observer newspaper said on Sunday groups to be targeted for job cuts include call center and check-in staff, baggage handlers and other ground staff.
Analysts say new technology under the Terminal 5 move at Heathrow will allow each worker to do more, while growing use of automated facilities such as on-line booking and automated check-in will also lead to cuts.
Eddington cut 14,000 jobs during his five-year tenure at BA. Walsh cut one-third of Irish carrier Aer Lingus' work force where he was chief executive ahead of the BA appointment.
BA has a delicate relationship with unions, particularly baggage handlers, following three successive summers of industrial unrest which grounded flights at its Heathrow operations. An industrial dispute at its caterer Gate Gourmet spilled over into a sympathy strike by BA staff, stranding more than 100,000 passengers at Heathrow last month.
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