LONDON - British Airways says it plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs due to coronavirus, as the aviation industry fights for its survival. The airline appears to have backed down from plans announced in April to make 12,000 people redundant, making up nearly 30% of its workforce.

MPs branded the company a ‘national disgrace’ over the proposal, accusing it in a report of a ‘calculated attempt to take advantage of the pandemic to cut jobs and weaken the terms and conditions of its remaining employees’. Appearing before the Commons’ Transport Select Committee today, Chief Executive Alex Cruz revealed today that 7,200 people have already left the company.

He said: ‘As CEO of British Airways, I have to take responsibility. I cannot ignore the situation. I had to act incredibly fast. ‘I deeply, deeply regret that way too many loyal and hardworking colleagues of mine are having to leave our business, and I understand why MPs are concerned.’

He said he had a had ‘very difficult and yet very constructive’ meetings with pilots’ union Balpa, which ended with an agreement on a package of job and pay cuts aimed at reducing the number of redundancies. Mr Cruz added: ‘This is an impossible situation. We’re having to make incredibly difficult decisions as a consequence of this pandemic and it is really only because of Covid-19 that we have had to go through such deep restructuring. (FA)