Virgin to axe 500 jobs

Virgin Atlantic is to shed more than 5% of its workforce by the end of the year.

The airline, which made a £14.4 million profit in 2014 after three years of losses, said the move was part of a new efficiency drive.

It said 500 managerial and support roles are to go through redeployment, natural attrition and redundancies, but it has not revealed the locations of the cuts.

A spokeswoman said this was a ‘global announcement’ affecting staff in non-customer facing roles around the world.

The airline said it wanted to build on its successful return to profitability by structuring the business in a ‘simpler, more efficient way’ with fewer management layers.

Chief executive, Craig Kreeger, said: "To truly position Virgin Atlantic for long-term and sustained success, we need to be a more efficient and agile organisation that has the ability to invest even more in the areas that make Virgin Atlantic’s customer experience unique.

"As a people-oriented business, these are extremely tough decisions to take, but we know they are necessary to secure our future.

"We are committed to supporting our people as we deliver against these plans."’¨