AA - Breaking up, breaking down
WORKERS, JAN 2007 ISSUE
The AA advertises itself as the "Fourth Emergency Service" to motorists. The AA is now in need of some emergency assistance itself as it is being broken up after being recently put up for sale.
The £3 billion price tag has been inflated by redundancies among dozens of highly skilled mechanics and technicians. The separation of fleet contracts covered by the AA, e.g. Volkswagen, and their sale to competitors, such as the RAC, is part of this disintegration.
The AA is trying to prevent staff being transferred along with the contract because so many jobs have gone that it cannot function properly. So the venture capitalist deal to acquire and asset strip the AA by 1 April 2007 may have another effect as the fourth emergency service simply vanishes on the foggy road where it advertises its repair skills.