An airport official gestures on the runway when an American Airlines Airbus 220 plane is seen at the gate of Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on December 18, 2020.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images
American Airlines announced on Wednesday that it will send time off notices this week to about 13,000 employees as a second round of federal payroll assistance is about to expire and travel demand remains in tatters.
Rival United Airlines sent similar license notices to 14,000 employees last Friday.
The last $ 15 billion Congress passed for U.S. airlines last year required airlines to remove the employees they laid off in the fall and maintain payroll until March 31. It was Covid’s second round of aid to the sector; Congress gave airlines $ 25 billion last March to prevent them from cutting employees until the fall.
Recently reported to record annual losses of $ 34 billion, CEOs of American airlines warned last month that they did not expect a strong recovery in air travel in the near future.
Employers are legally required to notify employees of possible layoffs or temporary leave, usually 60 days in advance. The notices do not guarantee that the recipients will lose their jobs.
American CEO Doug Parker told the team last week that the operator is still over-staffed for current demand projections and that there may be licenses.
“I don’t want anyone to be surprised if the company issues WARN notices in the near future,” Parker said at a town hall with a team last week, whose audio was analyzed by CNBC. He said the company will work with the unions to reduce slack through voluntary measures.
Airline unions are now seeking an additional $ 15 billion in federal payroll to keep the sector in jobs until September 30.