Aftermath of attacks sees Virgin cut 1,200 jobs

Virgin Atlantic is to cut 1,200 jobs in response to the aftermath of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States.

However, Virgin Action, the group's leisure and health club business, is to create 700 new jobs and plan to compensate for these losses by giving priority to Virgin Atlantic staff, the company said.

Airlines, including Virgin, have been hit hard by the hijackings, which brought devastation to New York and Washington DC last Tuesday.

In addition to the costs of delays and disruption, the majority of carriers have witnessed a dramatic drop in passenger numbers.

International travel reservations agency Amadeus revealed that bookings in the four days after the attack had dropped by more than one quarter.

Virgin now plan to reduce capacity to North America in October, but will increase capacity to the Far East and South Africa.

Virgin Atlantic employs around 9,000 staff worldwide, including 7,400 in the UK. (MB)