Virgin Atlantic to cut third of staff to survive Covid-19 crisis

Virgin Atlantic is preparing to cut almost a third of its 10,000 workforce and close its London Gatwick operations as the airline scales back to survive coronavirus. The airline Tuesday warned it would take up to three years to return to 2019 traffic levels and announced plans to cut up to 3,150 jobs. Virgin Atlantic will exit Gatwick airport, where it has been based for the past 35 years, and move leisure flying to London Heathrow as well as keeping its base at Manchester airport. The move will come as a further blow to the airport after BA signalled it could also bear the brunt of its own job cuts amid warnings its Gatwick operation may not return following the coronavirus crisis. In an internal post to staff, Shai Weiss, CE at Virgin Atlantic, warned current cost measures and support packages were “not enough”.  “If we are to safeguard our future and emerge from this crisis a sustainably profitable business, now is the time for further decisive action to reduce our costs and preserve cash,” he wrote. “It has been clear throughout that any potential investor, including HM Government, expects us to have taken all possible self-help measures as a precondition to funding.” Virgin Atlantic plans to retain its slots at Gatwick airport by leasing them out to other airlines, giving it the option to return when the aviation market returns to normal.<br/>