United Airlines Warns It May Cut Many Jobs As Coronavirus Continues to Surge

Airline United Airlines has issued a warning this week to its 36,000 front-line employees that it may have potential job cuts on the horizon due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This represents about a third of the company’s work force.

The terms of $25 billion in federal aid prohibit airlines from laying off or furloughing workers until Oct. 1st. United was one of the companies to take aid for payroll support.

Federal law requires employers to give staff notice about possible layoffs or temporary furloughs 60 days in advance.

In a memo sent to employees Wednesday, United said workers who are informed that their jobs are at risk might not ultimately get furloughed and that it will exhaust voluntary measures before cutting employees. Some of the furloughed staff may be called back to work but that will depend on a return to demand, which some industry executives say could take years.

“The reality is that United simply cannot continue at our current payroll level past October 1 in an environment where travel demand is so depressed,” the carrier said in its staff note. “And involuntary furloughs come as a last resort, after months of company-wide cost-cutting and capital-raising.”

The furloughs would apply to unionized workers and warnings are being given to about 15,000 flight attendants, more than half of the airline’s cabin crew, and over 2,200 pilots.

United also said more than 4,500 mechanics and technicians as well as more than 11,000 airport operations staff will receive Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, notices.

“The United Airlines projected furlough numbers are a gut punch, but they are also the most honest assessment we’ve seen on the state of the industry,” said Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

Disclaimer: We have no position in United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL) and have not been compensated for this article.