The Unite union has vowed to fight to protect the jobs of Thomas Cook staff which are now under threat.
The tour operator announced yesterday that it was reducing its airline fleet from 35 to 31 aircraft and that 430 jobs would be impacted (see earlier story).
The union said talks would begin with Thomas Cook’s management today at the operator’s Manchester office.
"At present, details of the threatened job losses are sketchy – we are not even sure which airports that Thomas Cook flies from will be worst hit," said Unite regional officer Helen Osgood.
"This is shocking news to a loyal and hard-working staff at the holiday company. Unite represents about 400 engineers and 1,000 cabin crew out of the 2,700-strong workforce – and their future at this time is our prime concern.
"It is very disappointing that this announcement has come at a time when the company’s new chief executive officer, Harriet Green has just been allotted 6.2 million share options, which is currently, we believe, worth more than £1 million."
Resonding to Unite’s comments about the share options, a spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said: "Thomas Cook strongly believe in pay for performance. The share awards for the new management team are subject to stretching conditions and will only be valuable if the business performance is transformed."
by Bev Fearis
