Kanoo quashes layoff rumours

Beating the flu: Kanoo Travel attempted to cut costs amid travel industry hardship, but didn't sack staff.

Kanoo Travel has denied rumours that it sacked a number of staff members in a bid to lessen the impact of swine flue and the global economic downturn on its business.

While admitting that the company had attempted to ‘shed costs’, Kanoo’s divisional general manager Julian Knott, claimed no staff had been forced to leave.

“We really just shed a few people wishing to go for their own good reasons, and offered a couple of enhanced [redundancy] packages, but nothing extraordinary put it that way,” he revealed.

“There was a small restructuring in Bahrain, but what we did was call for a couple of volunteers. We’re talking about less than ten people, not any major restructuring where hundreds were removed, like some of our colleagues have done.

“We were looking to make sure we had the right numbers, and if anyone wanted to take advantage of that then there was an offer on the table. I think to say we ‘encouraged’ this is too strong a word.”

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Although the company vociferously denied rumours of widespread layoffs, it has made no secret of the need for strict cost cutting measures, during what is a challenging time for the global travel trade.

Knott commented that the countermeasures employed by Kanoo during the past twelve months, had helped it remain within striking distance of its annual target.

“We’re as happy as we can be given the fact that we’re in an economic downturn and a major health scare is occurring at the same time,” he said.

“Business has not been as good as last year, but then again, we’ve shaved some of our costs and improved our income in some areas.

“All in all we’re pretty much on target to hit where we wanted to be financially, but we would just like to have sold a little bit more.”

Kanoo Travel lays claim to the mantle of ‘largest travel company in the Middle East’, and has established branches throughout the region, in addition to offices in France and the UK.

Knott said the company’s Bahrain branch was the only one to undergo staffing changes.