United Plans 16,000 Furloughs As Airlines Cut Jobs During Pandemic Downturn
Enlarge this image
A United Airlines plane is seen at the gate at Denver International Airport on July 30. The airline industry has been hit hard by the pandemic.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
The Coronavirus Crisis
After Months of Steep Declines, Air Traffic Is Picking Up
The Coronavirus Crisis
The People Flying During The Pandemic And How Airlines Are Trying To Protect Them
In a recent earnings call, United reported revenues were down more than 87% compared to last year.
«The pandemic has drawn us in deeper and lasted longer than almost any expert predicted, and in an environment where travel demand is so depressed, United cannot continue with staffing levels that significantly exceed the schedule we fly,» the company wrote. «Sadly, we don’t expect demand to return to anything resembling normal until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine.»
Business
Airlines Are Bracing For Potential Layoffs As Federal Payroll Aid To Expire Soon
Airlines Are Bracing For Potential Layoffs As Federal Payroll Aid To Expire Soon
Listen
·
2:32
2:32
Toggle more options
- Download
-
Transcript
Airlines received a lifeline from the federal government this spring, in the form of $25 billion in aid authorized through the CARES Act. The companies frantically sought cost savings — through voluntary furloughs and retirements, buyouts, schedule-sharing and other measures — but, as a condition of that aid money, were prohibited from laying off staff.
The aid money and the job protections expire Sept. 30.
The House passed a bill that would extend the payroll support program that has been helping the airlines. But the Senate has not.
In its announcement of furloughs, United urged employees to write to their representatives to support the extension, calling it «the one thing that would prevent involuntary furloughs on October 1 and hopefully delay any potential impact on employees until early 2021.»
- United Airlines
- Airlines
Комментарии 0