BOSSES at London’s Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAL) were accused today of sitting on a “cash mountain” while low-paid workers are threatened with wage cuts.

Unite said that 4,000 airport workers had been told by management that they are to be “fired and re-hired” on lower wages, with worse working conditions.

Yet HAL’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye has boasted publicly that the airport had cash reserves to last for at least the next two years, or 15 months with no passenger footfall.

Unite said that HAL had got wrong priorities, with generous payouts to shareholders including the Qatari royal family – one of the world’s wealthiest families – and well-padded remuneration packages for top HAL executives.

The union said that the notices issued to staff would see them losing up to £8,000 per annum – about 25 per cent of their income.

Unite members at the airport – including security officers, engineers, airside operatives and firefighters – are balloting for industrial action over the plans.

The union’s regional co-ordinating officer, Wayne King, said: “The issue here is not a lack of money, but how it is shared out. 

"John Holland-Kaye has put the interests of shareholders well before that of his employees.

“This is a sad indictment of his managerial style and not what is expected at a time of national crisis – when social responsibility should complement the demands of the balance sheet.”

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Today’s financial results show over £1.5bn losses so far in 2020, with revised forecasts predicting a slower recovery than initially expected. 

“There was no boasting, as it also highlighted the competitive edge we have given away to EU rivals.

“No shareholders will take dividends until Heathrow returns to health. Our priority has always been to protect jobs.”