Foreign workers hard hit by Travelbird job cuts

travelbird entranceDutch travel website Travelbird is scrapping around 100 jobs at its Amsterdam headquarters, most of which are being done by foreign nationals.

A Travelbird employee told DutchNews.nl that some of the company’s most experienced workers are losing their jobs because their contracts are not being renewed.

‘As recently as August several new employees were hired to do the same job as I do, but their contracts are not in danger,’ the source said. ‘It is me and several of my longer-term colleagues who can expect to be fired.’

The company has a current workforce of around 700. The job losses follow Travelbird’s decision to stop its activities in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Poland because they are not profitable. The company will continue to operate in 12 other countries, including the Netherlands.

The company was founded five years ago and wants to turn a profit next year, the Financieele Dagblad reports. The company booked turnover of €95m in 2014.

In May, Travelbird received a capital injection of €16.5m from German company Global Founders Capital, which is owned by the brothers Olivier, Marc and Alexander Samwer from Rocket Internet. It is the third time Global Founders Capital has put money into the company, website Z24 says.

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