year tenure at BA while Walsh cut one third of Irish carrier Aer Lingus's workforce where he was chief executive before his move to BA. Walsh said the senior management job cuts would be carried out in three phases with 94 of the top executives to leave by March 31, 2006 and further reductions over the next two years. He said the decision marked a renewed effort to meet the airline's goal of achieving a 10 percent operating margin. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters last month that Walsh was eyeing a 15 percent cut in its total workforce of 46,000 over several years as part of its move into a single new terminal at London Heathrow, its home airport. Labour relations are a priority for Walsh following three summers of industrial strife at BA's London operations and ahead of negotiations to change working practices at Heathrow.
