Irish airline wants to outsource to the United States
It’s fairly common to read in the papers that airline companies in the United States are outsourcing jobs, especially maintenance, overseas.
What is rare, however, is when a European airline wants to outsource jobs to the United States, which is what Aer Lingus wants to do.
According to Tom McGurk of the Sunday Business Post, Aer Lingus wants to offshore almost 1,500 jobs, which includes cabin crew on transatlantic routes, ground handling, cargo, and catering.
The airline plans to hire American crew, who will fly as passengers from, say, New York to Dublin, then shower and change and work as flight crew on the way back. This apparently will save over-nighting crew expenses in the US, he reports.
McGurk thinks that this is a big mistake because Aer Lingus was more than just a company to the Irish people.
It was part of the fabric of the emerging independent Irish state. Down the years, we spent our tax in huge volumes to sustain it. It was also the unique linkage that spread across the Irish diaspora, interlacing the weddings, the funerals and the holidays. In ways, too, it symbolised our independence and flew our flag in the world.
What Aer Lingus plans to do could have an impact in the Irish society as “[i]ts ambition and intent is so extraordinary that it has to be seen in the wider context of Irish society and Irish employment practices.”
In other words, if the plan is successful in reducing expenses, other employees in Ireland may do the same thing, thus laying off hundreds of Irish workers.
Aer Lingus may have picked a bad time to implement this plan. If the people were to vote with their feet, the airline may have to fire hundreds more than it planned to, which could backfire.
McGurk feels that Aer Lingus’ outsourcing plan could well be its last. “I believe the airline is picking the wrong fight at exactly the wrong time,” he adds.
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3 Responses to “Irish airline wants to outsource to the United States”
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Lingus is a funny word…..
Hire Irish-Americans for the US crew.
I do not work in the airline or travel industry. That said, I always find it very motivating when it is so obvious that my employer only thinks of me as an expense.
I am very fortunate — my current employer treats us very well.