BWIA managers' jobs up for review T'dad Exxpress 11.30.02 One manager's job at national airline BWIA was made redundant yesterday and the positions of several other managers will come up for consideration on Monday as the Board of Directors reviews aspects of a draft plan to help the cash-strapped national carrier trim costs. Staff rationalisation of about eight managers may be considered, an airline source has said. Yesterday, one BWIA manager was informed by the human resources department that his position was being made redundant. A compensation package has been offered to him. The airline has placed BWIA's supervisors' association on alert, informing them that some areas of operation my require trimming, the source said. Faced with new charter flight competition and slower customer bookings during the last financial quarter, BWIA continues to lose money despite an all-out marketing thrust. For the period July 1 to September 30, the airline made just US$521,000 compared to US$5.8 million during the same quarter in 2001, airline sources reported. Employees have also complained that salaries which they expected to receive yesterday would not be coming until next Monday. BWIA management has said the airline needs roughly US$13 million in financing to survive. What is certain is that BWIA needs to continue to cut costs. BWIA's Lawrence Duprey-led board met yesterday to examine aspects of a plan to help the airline save US$1.4 million a month in operating expenses. If approved, a completed plan may be presented early next week to the government, a source said. It includes reductions in monthly concession payments by US$300,000, and possible in-flight meal reductions. BWIA's director of Corporate Communications, Clint Williams, could not confirm whether managerial cuts were part of the plan. He said it was no secret that cash was tight at the airline, but noted that BWIA staff have always received their salaries and would continue to do so. Williams could not say if the draft plan included job cuts. He said there was much speculation about managerial job losses but added that even if the draft plan did include cuts, it would have to first be approved by the board and then by the government. The plan comes at a time when BWIA is reporting forward bookings that continue to show improvement. Reports from London, New York and Toronto indicate that bookings have improved from Christmas through to Carnival, the airline said. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Island Events) http://www.islandevents.com (Island Events) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************