BA's £3billion divi giveaway

12,000 jobs axed after shareholders’ bonanza

- GRAHAM HISCOTT

BRITISH Airways is preparing to slash 12,000 jobs despite its owner handing out £3.6billion to shareholders in five years.

The Unite union called it “a cynical act of corporate greed and a betrayal of the BA workforce and Britain”.

As well as the brutal job losses – more than a quarter of BA’s workforce – it is also proposing huge changes to contracts for those who survive.

Parent company IAG, headed by Willie Walsh, who has trousered £33million in salary, bonuses and pension payments, blamed a slump in passenger numbers.