US American Airlines to Lay Off 19,000 Employees Immediately After Government Support Ends

Government to End Airline Support on September 30
American Airlines CEO Requests "Bipartisan Support for Additional Financial Aid to Aviation Industry"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] American Airlines, the largest airline in the United States, is cutting nearly 20,000 jobs immediately after federal government financial support ended.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 25th (local time), American Airlines announced that it will temporarily lay off 19,000 employees starting October 1. Although this is less than the previously announced plan to cut 25,000 jobs last month, the total workforce is expected to decrease by about 30% compared to early March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first began. By job category, approximately 17,500 pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance workers, and 1,500 administrative staff will be laid off. Including voluntary retirements, the total reduction is expected to reach around 40,000 employees.

This move by American Airlines comes as travel demand has sharply declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and negotiations over additional stimulus packages between Congress and the government have stalled. Earlier, U.S. airlines received $25 billion (about 29.7 trillion KRW) from the federal government in March to maintain employment, but this support expires on September 30. Initially, the industry and political circles expected that after federal support ends in September, air travel demand would recover, allowing airlines to become self-sufficient. However, due to the second wave of COVID-19, travel demand has yet to revive, and U.S. airlines are appealing for an extension of the $25 billion government support until March next year.

Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines, said in a message to employees, "Our expectation that the virus would be under control and air travel demand would recover by the end of September was completely wrong," adding, "The only possibility to avoid these involuntary layoffs before October is for the U.S. political sphere to agree on additional bipartisan financial support for the airline industry."

This sentiment is also being felt among other U.S. airlines such as Delta and United Airlines. Delta Air Lines is negotiating with labor unions over additional cost reductions and has stated that if no agreement is reached, it will temporarily lay off 1,941 pilots. United Airlines has warned that 36,000 employees could face job insecurity.

American Airlines has announced plans to suspend routes to 15 small U.S. cities starting in October and reduce regular flights in the fourth quarter to less than half. In particular, international flights are expected to operate at only one-quarter of the level compared to the same period last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.