By Ian McConnell
TRAVEL giant TUI said yesterday that it would cut up to 8,000 posts globally as it reduces costs by 30 per cent on a permanent basis in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its operations.
It declared: “The tourism industry has weathered a number of macroeconomic shocks throughout the most recent decades – however the Covid-19 pandemic is unquestionably the greatest crisis the industry and TUI has ever faced.”
TUI, on the basis of UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office advice against all but essential travel amid the coronavirus crisis, late last month extended its cancellation of holidays to departure dates up to and including June 11. It has announced cancellations for some types of holiday beyond this date.
The company yesterday flagged its efforts to assess how it could “responsibly adapt to measures” put in place as a result of the pandemic so that “leisure travel can resume”.
Outlining its plans to cut costs, TUI said: “We are targeting to permanently reduce our overhead cost base by 30% across the entire group. This will have an impact on potentially 8,000 roles globally that will either not be recruited or reduced.”
TUI considers itself “very well-positioned to benefit from a recovery post the Covid-19 crisis”.
The group said: “The foreign tourism ministries from destinations such as Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, Austria, and Bulgaria are preparing intensively for the return of tourists. The health and wellbeing of both customers and colleagues remain paramount.”
It added: “We are preparing new procedures for the airport process, on board our aircraft, in hotels and on our ships, so that any social distancing recommendations or guidelines can be implemented, without compromising customer enjoyment and travel experience. TUI, alongside our many destination partners, stands ready for a responsible restart and resumption of our travel programme.”
TUI shares fell 4.3p or 1.6% to 260p yesterday.
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