British Airways boss Willie Walsh has been asked whether he is willing to “hand back the British flag” by a Labour MP, after revealing some jobs will now be outsourced abroad in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Walsh – who is the CEO of BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG) – faced a grilling from UK lawmakers on the Transport Committee on Monday, following the announcement that 12,000 jobs are to be cut by the embattled airline.
The Irish chief executive has come under fire for not safeguarding the jobs of British workers, particularly in light of IAG revealing in the last week that the group is sitting on £8.7 billion (€10 billion) in cash reserves.
BA’s CEO Alex Cruz has reportedly written to workers’ unions to say that the restructuring of IAG will include outsourcing jobs currently at London Heathrow out of the UK.
The issue was seized upon by Labour MP for Ilford South Sam Tarry, who questioned whether it was right that BA – who have taken advantage of the UK government’s furlough scheme – should now give precious job roles to “citizens in different parts of the world.”
