No airline has escaped the effect of the pandemic, given that most airports are sealed and flights have been grounded for months now. British airline, Virgin Atlantic, has also been forced to consider laying off 3000 employees in a bid to cut costs and protect the future.
The move will help the airline focus on making the business “sustainably profitable” and help cut costs. Only timely measures right now, in terms of restructuring and resizing, in accordance with the demand, will help it to begin earning profits next year. It is also expected to shift its operations from London Gatwick and focus only on Heathrow airport.
The Company is trying to obtain financial assistance from the government, potential investors and other stakeholders. It is reported that a sum of £500m ($624m) was sought in the form of commercial loans and guarantees to help rescue the airline.
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has requested adequate action from the government to save the aviation industry and come up with a recovery plan at the earliest.
Owned by Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic believes that it may take about three years for air travel to be restored to normalcy and demand to return to what it was before the coronavirus outbreak.
Virgin Atlantic is not the only one to be considering job cuts. Recently, Ryanair and British Airways also resorted to such drastic measures to cut costs.
