Voice of America
09 Jul 2020, 00:35 GMT+10
United Airlines will send layoff warnings to 36,000 employees - nearly half its U.S. staff - in the clearest signal yet of how deeply the virus outbreak is hurting the airline industry.
The outlook for a recovery in air travel has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in much of the U.S. and some states imposed new quarantine requirements.
United officials said Wednesday that they still hope to limit the number of October layoffs by offering early retirement, and that the 36,000 number is a worst case scenario. The notices being sent to employees this month are meant to comply with 60-day warning ahead of mass job cuts.
The furloughs would include 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 5,500 maintenance workers and 2,250 pilots.
"The United Airlines projected furlough numbers are a gut punch, but they are also the most honest assessment we've seen on the state of the industry," said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. "This crisis dwarfs all others in aviation history, and there's no end in sight."
If United carries through on the notices, furloughs would take effect on or shortly after Oct. 1. United can't lay off workers before then as a condition of the $5 billion in federal payroll aid it began receiving this spring.
The flight attendants' union and other airline labor groups are lobbying Congress to approve another $25 billion in payroll aid to protect jobs through next March. But a senior United executive expressed doubt that Congress would approve the spending in an election year.
"We do not feel like we can count on additional government support to survive," said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
United Airlines Places Stricter Consequences on Face Covering Policy Passengers non-compliant with United's face mask policy can be placed on 'internal restriction list'
United executives said the notices covered 45% of the airline's U.S. staff. Another 1,300 management and support staff will be laid off Oct. 1, the company said. Including international employees, United has a work force of about 95,000.
Air travel plunged about 95% from March 1 until mid-April, then began a slow recovery. The number of U.S. air travelers around the July 4 weekend was the highest since mid-March, but was still down about 70% from a year ago.
In recent weeks, the number of new reported cases of COVID-19 has roughly doubled to about 50,000 a day. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Chicago have announced that people arriving from states with high infection rates will have to quarantine, throwing up a new roadblock to travel.
United's traffic at its hub in Newark, New Jersey, has slumped more deeply than the rest of its network since those quarantine rules were announced.
Executives of other airlines have predicted their companies will be much smaller, with fewer employees, in October. Delta Air Lines recently told employees that it will send layoff notices to more than 2,500 of its 14,000 pilots.
Get a daily dose of Chicago Chronicle news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Chicago Chronicle.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high this week, buoyed by growing institutional interest and a wave of pro-crypto...
SHENZHEN, China: As global chip competition intensifies, Huawei Technologies is exploring new markets in the Middle East and Southeast...
LONDON/NEW YORK CITY: American grocery bills may be headed higher as coffee and orange juice prices face upward pressure from new tariffs...
BATTLE CREEK, Michigan: In a major consolidation of iconic food brands, WK Kellogg has agreed to be acquired by the owner of Ferrero...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Filmmaker Peter Jackson's lifelong fascination with the extinct giant New Zealand flightless bird called the moa...
NEW DELHI, India: India has submitted a revised proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva to implement retaliatory tariffs...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
(Photo credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images) ATLANTA -- Just to participate in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game would be a career...
(Photo credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images) The American League and National League announced their lineups for Tuesday's All-Star...
(Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images) Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan will make his debut behind the New York...
(Photo credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images) Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run home run to help the Boston Red Sox stretch their winning...
(Photo credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images) For the third time in five races, Shane van Gisbergen leveled the field at a NASCAR Cup Series...