On Wednesday, the big US carrier announced its plans to lay off 16,000 staff amid a prolonged industry downturn due to the coronavirus.
The company said;
“The savings have not been enough to avoid involuntary furloughs entirely,”
“Today, each of our operations leaders communicated directly with their teams to share the heart-wrenching news that approximately 16,000 United employees will be notified of an involuntary furlough effective as early as October 1.”
“Flight attendants are resilient in the face of adversity, 1st responders. Pilots spend years training to acquire skills & knowledge to fly the public safety,”
“Inaction by Congress will now send us to the unemployment line.”
United’s cuts affect nearly 7,000 flight attendants and almost 3,000 pilots, among other staff.
“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 said.
“Sadly, we don’t expect demand to return to anything resembling normal until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine.”
“If we can’t and don’t get the extension, we’ll be forced to go ahead with the furlough,” Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian told CNBC earlier this week.
“Many of you have participated in an effort to write to your representatives and advocate for an extension. If you haven’t and you’d still like to lend your voice, click here to take action,” United said in the memo that included a link to a form to reach lawmakers.
