American Airlines has said it will axe 19,000 jobs in October after the government’s wage support scheme extended to airlines ends.
The world’s biggest airline will be left with a workforce that will be 30 per cent smaller than it was pre-pandemic. The new lay offs come on top of the 12,500 who earlier took voluntary redundancy.
World of Aviation reported in April that American Airlines was pencilled in for a huge US$5.8 billion state rescue package. The number was higher than that received by United (US$5 billion), Delta (US$5.4 billion), and Alaska Airlines (US$1 billion).
Chief executive Doug Parker and president Robert Isom said in a message to staff, “We must prepare for the possibility that our nation’s leadership will not be able to find a way to further support aviation professionals and the service we provide, especially to smaller communities.
“In short, American’s team will have at least 40,000 fewer people working October 1 than we had when we entered this pandemic.”
Earlier this week, World of Aviation reported that Finnish flag carrier Finnair has is cutting up to 1,000 jobs, or approximately 15 per cent of its total workforce.
Chief executive Topi Manner said, “A rapid turn for the better in the pandemic situation is unfortunately not in sight. Our revenue has decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of the main factors driving that decline appear to be persisting longer than initially expected.”
