Boris Johnson backs away from punishing British Airways over jobs

UK PM Boris Johnson backed off from intervening in BA plans to cut pay and modify contracts for remaining staff after dismissing thousands of others. “British Airways and a number of other companies are in severe difficulties at the moment,” Johnson told lawmakers in Parliament Wednesday. “We cannot simply with a magic wand ensure that every single job that was being done before the crisis is retained after the crisis.” Johnson was responding to a question from Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer, who asked whether the premier would tell BA that its actions would have consequences for its slew of lucrative airport landing slots. BA met with criticism after saying it planned to eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 30% of the total, while tapping a state furlough program aimed at safeguarding employment. The House of Commons Transport Committee accused the airline of using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to cut the payroll, while Aviation Minister Kelly Tolhurst said she might ask the Civil Aviation Authority to confiscate BA slots, before cautioning that it wouldn’t be possible under the current system.<br/>