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400 Buzz jobs at risk, union says
STANSTED, England -- Up to 400 jobs are said to be under threat at British budget airline Buzz as a result of its takeover by rival Ryanair. The warning has been made by the GMB union and comes three weeks after the takeover, which comes into effect in April. (Full story) In January it was reported that about 100 redundancies had been agreed after the takeover deal went through. But the GMB said on Friday it had been told 400 Buzz jobs -- out of a total of about 600 -- would be axed when Ryanair takes over on April 1. Among those set to lose their jobs were 25 percent of the Stansted-based carrier's pilots, 80 percent of the cabin crews and half the ground services staff, the GMB said. A Ryanair spokeswoman could not confirm the job losses. She told the Press Association: "The integration process is ongoing and there's scheduled to be an announcement at the end of the month." The GMB's Paul Kenny told PA that the remaining jobs at Buzz were not likely to survive for long: "Ryanair's predatory takeover is simply to remove the opposition from the low cost part of the industry. "The flying public will lose out on choice and 400 Buzz employees will lose their livelihood immediately and I expect the rest will follow soon after." Buzz, which is owned by Dutch airline KLM, operated 21 routes from London Stansted -- Ryanair's main UK base -- to points in Germany, Holland, France and Spain, as well as two French domestic routes. Ryanair said the deal allowed it to expand further at Stansted, where it currently flies 49 routes.
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