A Post-Pandemic Hiring Spree Versus Modest Growth

Much has been written about whether major travel companies have recovered in revenue since the pandemic, but what about their employee rosters?

Booking Holdings laid off 6,100 employees, or 23% of its staff, in 2020, and froze hiring through the end of 2021.

According to its latest quarterly financial filing, Booking has built back up its staffing. Booking has boosted its employee ranks 19.2% to 24,200 as of September 30, 2024 versus December 31, 2021.

If Booking Holdings had not outsourced roughly 2,700 call center jobs to Majorel in 2022, its current workforce would have surpassed its 2019 level of 26,400.

At the end of 2023, the geographical mix of Booking’s workforce was Europe (47%), Asia Pacific (36%), North America (15%) and the rest of the world (2%). 

Booking Holdings’s revenue has more than recovered from the pandemic. Revenue in the third quarter of 2024 was close to $8 billion, 60% higher…