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Success of the web forces call centre closures
British Airways says increased internet bookings are behind the closure of two call centres, which will result in 400 job losses. The airline is closing its call centres in London and Glasgow. A statement by the airline said: “The difference between the amount of property we have in the UK and the number of employees we now have means we cannot afford, in our current financial position, to retain property which is not supporting the business”. The move will save BA an estimated £10 million over the next five years. BA says calls to its five UK call centres have fallen 34% in the last two years to 8.5 million. It says the drop is due to the increase in online bookings. The carrier claims that 46% of point-to-point shorthaul bookings are now made through ba.com. The Glasgow centre will be shut by November 2004 and the London centre by March 2005. The three remaining call centres in Manchester, Newcastle and Belfast will be restructured, making room for 400 new jobs. The airline says it will not follow the lead of other UK travel companies, like ebookers, of outsourcing call centres to India to cut costs. It has one call centre in Delhi that employs 22 staff and deals with customers and agents calling from within India. The cuts are part of the continuing streamlining exercise, Future Size and Shape. So far manpower has been reduced by 12,652 since August 2001, which is on target to reach the goal of 13,000 by the end of March. Report by Ginny McGrath
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