BA fills 200 UK jobs with staff in India

HUNDREDS of staff at British Airways are to lose their jobs after an Indian firm was hired to manage its computer systems.

The airline has begun flying in staff from India to replace UK workers after signing a contract with Tata Consultancy Services to provide IT support, the GMB union claims.

British Airways confirmed it has started a formal consultation process and it is thought up to 200 staff could be cast off in the latest round of redundancies.

A raft of IT workers were already made redundant in February when Tata signed the contract with BA.

Philip Pitt, acting head of news at British Airways, said it was impossible to disclose the number of IT workers in the business or the number of job losses because it was commercially sensitive.

The GMB say as many as 800 IT jobs could be lost over the next two years.

British Airways workers staged a picket line and demonstration outside the Home Office yesterday claiming it is abusing the immigration system by allowing foreign workers into the country on Tier 2 visas for skilled workers.

British Airways owner IAG, which also owns Spain’s Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, has been amalgamating the buying, IT and finance departments as a cost-cutting measure.