An airport worker gestures on the tarmac as an American Airlines Airbus 220 plane is spotted at the gate at Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia on December 18, 2020.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images
American Airlines said Wednesday it will send leave notices to about 13,000 employees this week as a second round of federal payroll will expire and demand for travel remains in tatters.
Rival United Airlines sent similar leave alerts to 14,000 employees last Friday.
The last $ 15 billion congress approved for U.S. carriers late last year required airlines to reclaim the employees they took leave in the fall and keep payroll until March 31. It was the second round of Covid support for the industry; Congress gave airlines $ 25 billion last March to avoid cutting staffs through the fall.
Fresh off reporting record annual losses of $ 34 billion, US airline CEOs warned last month that they didn’t expect a strong rebound in air travel in the near future.
Employers are required by law to usually give employees 60 days notice of potential layoffs or temporary leave. The communications do not guarantee that recipients will eventually lose their jobs.
US CEO Doug Parker told staff last week that the courier is still overmanned for current demand forecasts and that there may be time off.
“I don’t want anyone to be surprised if the company releases WARN notices in the near future,” Parker said last week at a staffed town hall whose audio was reviewed by CNBC. He said the company will work with unions to reduce time off work through voluntary measures.
Aviation unions are now seeking an additional $ 15 billion in federal payroll for the industry to keep jobs through September 30.