Ryanair to axe 100 Buzz jobs and close loss-making routes

Ryanair yesterday warned that it would shut Buzz if its pilots attempted to block a turnaround plan which will result in the loss of 100 jobs and the closure of half its loss-making routes.

Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of the Dublin-based no-frills airline, said he intended to complete the purchase and integration of the rival low-cost carrier by 1 April and would brook no opposition.

"There will be people who don't want this to succeed and will do their utmost to disrupt the operation. To people who don't want to sign up for the programme the message will be blunt – there's the door," Mr O'Leary said.

Asked what would happen if the pilots' union Balpa took industrial action, Mr O'Leary replied: "If Balpa want to go on strike on 1 April, it won't be a question of sacking them. We will close down Buzz."

Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of Balpa, hit back saying he would defend the pay, jobs and working conditions of Buzz's pilots. "However charismatic he may be, Mr O'Leary is not above the law. You can't just go hiring and firing people and you don't motivate people by putting the fear of God into them."

Ryanair took the aviation world by surprise last Friday by announcing the purchase of Buzz from the Dutch national carrier KLM for a net cost of £3.2m. Mr O'Leary said yesterday that he expected to turn Buzz around from a €30m (£20m) loss this financial year to a €10m profit for the year to March, 2004.

The routes being axed include Buzz services from Stansted to Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, routes from Bournemouth to the Continent and two domestic French services. Mr O'Leary said that on the routes Ryanair kept open, fares would be halved with the aim of doubling Buzz's passenger numbers to 4 million in the coming year.

Mr O'Leary said he believed morale among Buzz's remaining 470 staff would improve and characterised the takeover as a means of saving jobs not culling them. The only senior manager who will definitely not be staying with Ryanair is its chief executive who is returning to KLM.

Ryanair said it expected the Buzz acquisition to enable it to increase passenger numbers by 50 per cent next year to 24 million and well over 30 million by 2006. Pre-tax profits for the three months to the end of December rose by 45 per cent while passenger numbers grew by 46 per cent to 3.93 million. Ryanair shares fell 5 per cent to 419p.