Booking.com To Cut 25% Of Workforce As Travel Demand Drops
As the coronavirus continues to take a bite out of the travel industry, Booking.com (BKNG) said it has plans to lay off 25% of its workforce of a reported 17,000 employees.
The announcement came in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing with employees set to start being notified in September, with all layoffs completed by the end of 2020. Layoffs will be announced on a country-by-country basis by parent company Bookings Holdings, which also operates Kayak and Priceline.
“The Covid-19 crisis has devastated the travel industry, and we continue to feel the impact as travel volumes remain significantly reduced,” a company spokeswoman told CNBC. “While we have done much to save as many jobs as possible, we believe we must restructure our organization to match our expectation of the future of travel.”
The layoffs come as the travel industry continues to see a decline in business as the coronavirus pandemic bears down, shaking consumer confidence in traveling. The airline industry has also seen a decline in bookings along with the hotel industry and other travel-related businesses.
Booking.com reported a 51% decrease in first-quarter gross travel bookings year-over-year. Its second-quarter earnings report is set to be released on Thursday.
Shares of Booking Holdings were trading at $1,675.13 as of 10:26 a.m. ET, up $24.89 or 1.51%.
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