British Airways (BA) reported that by August 7, 2020, more than 6,000 employees took voluntary redundancy which indicates that the company reached a halfway mark through its planned furloughs.

Back in April 2020, British Airways announced that 12,000 of its employees will lose their jobs. In turn, the airline offered voluntary redundancy packages to more senior employees, which more than 6,000 of the carrier’s staff took up as of August 7, 2020.

British Airways is set to send letters to the remainder of the employees informing them of their fate in the company. How many will lose their jobs or will be required to make changes to their employment contracts is uncertain. 

When BA announced its downsizing operation, a lot of controversies rose around how the company handled the situation. Many pilots had accused the airline of taking it too far in using the global pandemic as an excuse to cut expenses by reducing salaries. In turn, the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), successfully negotiated with BA for 1,200 pilots to keep their jobs after 4,300 of their colleagues’ accepted pay cuts.

Allegedly, some pay cuts were as much as 70% and now a lot of employees in BA are awaiting news about their jobs. The letters sent on Friday, August 7, 2020, will be received by cabin crew, engineers and airport staff.