Unite was also critical that the company had accessed a £300 million coronavirus corporate loan, administered by the Bank of England, while at the same time announcing that it was planning to axe 12,000 BA employees.
Unite national officer for civil air transport Oliver Richardson said: “It is clear that hardworking BA employees are expected to pay with their jobs for a crisis not of their making and IAG’s massive wrong call on fuel hedging which notched up a €1.3bn loss.
“There is also a sour taste in the mouth that IAG has accessed a £300 million loan and taken government money from the job retention scheme (JRS), both of which are underpinned by the UK taxpayer, while announcing that it was planning to axe 12,000 BA jobs and force the rest of the workforce to accept inferior contracts or face dismissal.
“The abrupt announcement of these job losses and the attack on the remaining workforce are a mark of shame for this iconic UK company.
“BA is rushing through these job cuts, while, cynically, planning for recovery to start as soon as July.
“These actions go well beyond any economic response to the Covid-19 crisis, and are about a cynical and opportunistic attempt to make everyone else pay for their past mistakes and contribute more in the future to their profits.”