Aquino okays plan to cut 3,500 Philippine Airlines jobs

MANILA's approval of a Philippine Airlines (PAL) outsourcing plan will cut 3,500 staff from company's cargo operation according to a report from industry researcher Business Monitor International (BMI).

Despite employee and union opposition, Philippines president Benigno Aquino has approved the plan cut staff and save US$22 million a year, reports Georgia-based AirCargo World. PAL operates a network that includes 29 domestic and 33 international destinations.

The BMI report said the country's air cargo fell 4.4 per cent last year, but is expected to recover 5.6 per cent by the end of this year due to international, rather than domestic growth.

BMI is forecasting Philippine GDP growth of 4.9 per cent this year although the possibility of a downturn in China would hit Philippine growth in 2011. China is the country's biggest export market.
(Source:www.schednet.com)