BA may suspend 32,000 staff; Boeing eyes buyouts

Rescue flights are some of the little business left.

British Airways planes are bringing stranded Britons home from Peru and other countries.

But most of the airline's jets are grounded, and now workers look set to pay a price.

Reuters sources say the carrier is in talks with unions to suspend around 32,000 staff.

The BBC says the number could go as high as 36,000.

That after BA cut flying capacity by 75% in April and May.

The plan would see furloughs for cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and head office workers.

It excludes pilots, who have already agreed to take two weeks of unpaid leave.

The move would come after rival EasyJet grounded its entire fleet, and laid off 4,000 cabin crew for two months.

Fresh pain too for the firms that supply the airlines.

A separate Reuters source says Boeing plans to offer buyouts and early retirement.

The giant planemaker has been forced to suspend output at plants near Seattle after cases of coronavirus among workers.

It's looking for 60 billion dollars in government aid to prop up the U.S. aerospace industry.