AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT BOOKING HOLDINGS

Norwalk, Connecticut-based Booking Holdings, Ian owner/operator of several travel fare aggregators and travel fare metasearch engines, has announced a costcutting initiative.

The number of impacted employees is unknown, but expected to be substantantial as the company's workforce numbers approximately 24,000 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, “As part of a broader transformational program aimed at creating greater opportunities for innovation, improving efficiency and strengthening our long-term financial position, Booking.com is currently reviewing its organizational structure. While we are still in the early stages of this process and no decisions have been made, we expect to make organizational changes. This is a proactive step to make sure Booking.com remains agile in a very competitive industry and keeps driving customer-centered innovation at pace.”

“We believe these efforts will improve operating expense efficiency, increase organizational agility, free up resources that can be reinvested into further improving our offering to both travelers and partners, and better position the Company for the long term.”

CFO Ewout Steenbergen noted, “We continue to be very focused on carefully managing the growth of our fixed expenses. We believe it is important to drive greater operating leverage in our fixed expenses as this creates capacity for disciplined investment across our strategic initiatives, which we believe will help drive stronger top line and earnings growth in the future.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT NAVAN

Palo Alto, California-based Navan, an online travel management, corporate card, and expense management company, has announced a restructuring and a 5% reduction in its workforce.

Approximately 145 employees are impacted by the restructuring.

According to a company spokesperson, “Navan has recorded strong growth over the past three years despite the challenges affecting our industry. We are refocusing efforts to move faster toward profitability as we enter the next phase of the company. As such, we have made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our global workforce by 5% to increase operational efficiencies as we continue to reinvent travel and expense through innovation.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT SABRE

Southlake, Texas-based Sabre Corporation, a travel technology systems provider for air bookings in North America, has announced a broad restructuring effort and plans to lay off 15% of its workforce.

The reduction in force will impact 1,100 employees across all levels and functions and will take place before the end of the second quarter.

Kurt Ekert, President and CEO of Sabre, noted, "The travel industry continues to experience improvements in booking volumes each quarter, and we are optimistic that Sabre is poised for growth. We have put strategic plans in place designed to reposition our business, lean into new revenue opportunities while continuing to cultivate our core business, and strategically reduce our cost base.

We acknowledge that cost-reduction plans will impact team members around the world and are often the most difficult decisions a leader must make. We are confident, however, that by realigning our resources to drive growth, we will best position Sabre for long-term success and deliver value to our stockholders and our customers.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?