British Airways to trim workforce by 3,000

LONDON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- British Airways said Friday it would cut 3,000 jobs as it lost more than $484 million from April through the end of September.

The pre-tax loss was far more than the $418 million industry analysts had predicted, The Times of London reported.

Revenue for the six-month period also fell, dropping 13.7 percent compared with the same period of 2008.

Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said airline's 12-month revenue would likely be down by $1.65 billion by the end of the year.

"Our costs are some $663 million lower and manpower has been cut by 1,900 through reduced overtime, increased part-time and targeted voluntary redundancy," Walsh said.

Nevertheless, British Airways would further reduce is payroll by 6 percent by March, he said.

He said the airline would also make "permanent changes to the way we run our business."