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Booking Holdings Applies for European Relief With Substantial Layoffs Possible

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: A Booking.com lodging rating as seen in the Netherlands on July 8, 2019. The company is mulling layoffs and applying for governmental relief.  Flickr.com / jbdodane

Skift Take

Government relief or not, if a substantial coronavirus recovery doesn't take shape by June, it's hard to believe that Booking Holdings won't execute substantial layoffs like everyone else. Perhaps the crisis, too, will spur new discussions about enormous pay gaps between CEOs and their workers.

Booking.com terminated 48 contractors in Amsterdam when their agreements expired, and Glenn Fogel, CEO of that unit and its parent Booking Holdings, told employees in an internal video Friday that additional layoffs were certainly possible. Under the headline, "Dizzying"drop in turnover at Booking: layoffs on the way, Dutch site NRC reported on the video it obtained, as well as internal documents, although it didn't publish the actual video. "Staff at Booking.com, the world's largest travel site, is very concerned about a possible dismissal (layoffs)," the NRC story said. "Last Friday, American top executive Glenn Fogel announced this during a video conference with hundreds of employees. In it, Fogel replied 'probably, yes' to the question of whether layoffs would be made."

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There have been no announcements of layoffs, although the company is undoubtedly mulling its options as competitors and big tra

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