International Air Transport Association | Less space for more employees in Montreal

A year after receiving 20 million from Quebec and Ottawa to maintain its presence in Montreal, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is reducing its physical footprint in the city center, evoking telework. On a more positive note, the strength of the airline lobby is growing in the metropolis.

Once the work is completed, in March 2024 according to our information, the organization’s headquarters will occupy five floors in the Stock Exchange tower, one less than currently. This rejuvenation cure, during which we will redevelop, among other things, the workspaces in addition to changing the office furniture, should cost more than 4 million.

“This is an investment for the future,” IATA spokesperson Markus Ruediger said in a telephone interview. “But with the possibility of teleworking [deux jours par semaine], we can group the same number of employees on five floors rather than six. »

He did not want to say if the subsidies would be used to pay for the work.

IATA is not alone in wanting to take up less space. The proof: in the first quarter, Montreal posted a vacancy rate of 16.5% in the office segment during the months of January, February and March, according to the real estate services company CBRE. This is a record, she says.

In 2022, the Trudeau and Legault governments offered $10 million each in grants to ensure that IATA’s headquarters remain in Montreal, where it has been based since its founding in 1945.

The announcement was the subject of a press conference that brought together the two levels of government, Montreal International as well as the organization’s general manager, Willie Walsh.

The previous year, IATA had signaled its intention to shift more work to its office in Geneva, Switzerland, where nearly all of the 11 senior executives, including Mr Walsh, spend most of their time. .

Hiring

The financial assistance from Ottawa and Quebec – which will be paid gradually until the start of the next decade – came with one condition, namely the maintenance of 250 positions, particularly in the areas of law, finance and information technology, for at least four years. On this aspect, IATA has kept its promise.

According to its website, IATA is currently looking for 11 people in the metropolis. These are essentially positions that relate to legal services and data analysis.

With the anticipated recovery in the airline industry after the tremors of the pandemic, it is reasonable to believe that the number of airline lobby employees should continue to grow in the metropolis, even if the opposite is expected for the size of its offices – which are located a stone’s throw from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

On the side of the economic promotion agency of the metropolis, we prefer to keep our eyes on the size of the workforce of IATA rather than on the surface area of ​​its offices.

“Montreal International had been informed by the Association of its intention to redevelop its offices without affecting the number of employees or any other criteria established in the agreement signed in June 2022,” said its President and CEO, Stéphane Paquet. , in a statement.

The Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie agreed, adding that the “new realities of the world of work” also concerned international organizations. As of this writing, Ottawa has not responded to questions from The Press sent by email.

The 79^e IATA’s annual meeting will take place June 4-6 in Istanbul, Turkey.

With the collaboration of William Leclerc, The Press