Firm hand at the Controls: Saad Hammad CEO of Flybe

When Saad Hammad became chief Executive of Flybe group Plc in July of this year not many people outside of the business world may have heard of him.

But with today’s news that his renewal plan will see the Exeter based airline lose a further 500 jobs from an already reduced staff of 2,700 people are beginning  to take notice of 

A former director of Easyjet and Air Berlin, Mr Hammad replaced Jim French as CEO this year. A move that instantly saw Flybe’s share price rise by 2% in the London stock exchange.

Mr French who also stepped down as the group’s non-executive chairman last week oversaw a period in which Flybe saw passenger numbers decline and the company post losses of several million.

Hammad however has seen the company re-build declaring pre-tax profits of £13.8m despite losses predicted earlier in the year.

Already part of the way through his ‘turnaround plan’ Mr Hammad is on track to make savings of £40m this year with a further £45m in 2014/15.

Much of Hammad’s success has been down to an extensive restructuring of the company seeing managers and staff both face redundancy in a bid to make the operation of the group more efficient.

This has lead to today’s announcement that another 500 jobs could be cut from airline’s roster which has already been diminished following nearly 600 job losses since last year.

The latest round of cuts is expected to save around £26 million.

Although it is not yet clear as to where the job losses will be coming from; Hammad’s warnings that several air travel routes could possibly go suggests that pilots could be on the list.

Hammad has stated that the group will be working closely with unions to manage the cuts.

While Hammad’s savings plans have doubtless created some animosity within the staff at Flybe it has seen a renwed faith in the company from the stock market.

Today’s announcement alone has seen the share price of Flybe stock rise by nearly 10% marking a continued rise in the share price under Hammad’s leadership.

Although not yet fully recovered the share price has risen from the 50p a share low earlier this year.

In a statement released earlier today Hammad commented: “I joined Flybe in August this year.  It was clear to me that the existing Phase 1 and 2 cost savings were necessary, but we simply needed to do more and to do it immediately.  The business needed action now and so today we are explaining our next phase which encompasses a review of everything we do and how we do it. 

"Most of the immediate actions are completed, being implemented or already being consulted on.  Unfortunately there is a proposal for further redundancies.  We will consult with the trade unions and employees to ensure that this is done fairly and delivers the right outcome for the business.

While the economic environment remains challenging, the Board is confident that the actions announced today will provide a firm basis for future growth. We will make Flybe the best local airline in Europe.  This is ambitious, but achievable provided that we can transform our cost base and efficiency now.”

More news is expected at a press conference at noon today.