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BA to ax almost half of top executives

The new chief executive of British Airways (BA), Willie Walsh, reinforced the cost-cutting reputation which earned him the nickname Slasher Walsh by announcing job losses yesterday.

Almost 50 percent of the airline's top executives and 30 percent of middle managers are to be made redundant in a move aimed at saving ?50 million (US$86.57 million) a year.

Walsh said the reduction in his management team, to be achieved by 2008, would not be the end of job cuts. He refused to be drawn on future numbers.

Already 3,000 people a year are leaving the business through normal turnover but he said "some" were being replaced as BA tries to reach its target of saving ?300 million in labor costs by March 2007.

"I said when we reported our second-quarter financial results last month that our costs were up in most areas and that, as a result, we need to re-energize our efforts to deliver a competitive cost base," Walsh said.

He denied there was any change of strategy and insisted it was no indictment of the way his predecessor, Rod Eddington, had run the business.

"His track record was exceptional. BA was one of the few companies that really did face up to the challenges after 9/11," he said.

BA hopes most of the reductions can be achieved voluntarily but Walsh accepted there were likely to be some compulsory redundancies.
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