Will Restructure Some Areas Of Its Business After Reporting Return To Profitability

After reporting in March that it had returned to the black side of the ledger, Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will be cutting 500 jobs as it restructures some of its business units and continues to reduce costs.

Buying Business Travel reports that the airline said its goals is to streamline its corporate structure with fewer layers of management.

In a statement released to the media, the airline said the move would "build on its successful return to profitability by structuring the business in a simpler, more efficient way with fewer management layers, bringing the entire business closer to the customer.

"To achieve this, Virgin Atlantic is planning a reduction of approximately 500 support and managerial roles, which will be achieved through a combination of natural attrition, redeployment and redundancies.

"This program will be handled in a way that provides the best possible support to all those that are impacted. These changes will take place over the next few months, with a target of completing the program by the end of the year.

"Virgin Atlantic is aiming to reduce its non-fuel costs through focusing on driving efficiency and simplicity throughout all areas of the business whilst delivering an even better customer experience."

"As a people oriented business, these are extremely tough decisions to take, but we know they are necessary to secure our future," said Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger. "We are committed to supporting our people as we deliver against these plans."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.virginatlantic.com