TfL to furlough 7,000 staff and save £15.8m through Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Transport for London (TfL) is to place 7,000 staff whose work has been reduced or paused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic on furlough from Monday.

The move will allow it to access funding from the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), saving the organisation an estimated £15.8m every four weeks.

TfL said: “This will partly reduce the huge financial impact of coronavirus whilst constructive discussions continue with Government on the wider revenue support that TfL will need to continue the effective operation of London's transport network.”

It added that the government’s advice for people to stay at home and only make essential journeys had seen Tube journeys fall by 95% and journeys on buses fall by 85%. “However, this has meant that TfL's main source of income has almost disappeared.”

TfL said it had carefully assessed which roles within the organisation were suitable for the scheme, ensuring that all staff required for recovery planning and delivery were retained.

The 7,000 staff will be placed on furlough, for an initial period of three weeks. This represents around 25% of the workforce employed.

TfL is to pay the remainder of salaries of all furloughed employees and continue to pay pension contributions.

London's Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, MVO said: “The transport network is crucial in the fight to tackle coronavirus and it will play a similarly vital role in supporting the country's economy as it recovers from the pandemic.

“We have significantly cut our costs over recent years but nevertheless the success of encouraging the vast majority of people to stay at home has seen our main revenue, fares, reduce by 90%.”

He added: “We are now taking steps to use the Government's Job Retention Scheme to further reduce our costs where work has been paused because of the virus, while at the same time supporting our staff financially.

“Our work with the Government about the support that we need are ongoing and are constructive. We hope for an urgent agreement so that we can continue to provide the city with the vital transport it needs now and going forward.”