Catering company Gate Gourmet, whose labor dispute sparked major flight cancellations at Heathrow Airport this month, said it might put its British unit into bankruptcy as early as Tuesday. Gate Gourmet broke off official discussions with the Transport and General Workers Union last week after the union insisted that Gate Gourmet hire back workers it had dismissed on Aug. 10. British Airways employees started a wildcat sympathy strike after the dismissals, and grounded flights stranded thousands of passengers. The company claims that high labor costs may lead to bankruptcy of its British unit.
See "Caterer to the Airlines Weighs Bankruptcy for Its British Unit", Heather Timmons, The New York Times, August 21, 2005