Jul 2, 2008 11:04 am US/Pacific
American Airlines To Furlough 900 Employees
Troubled Airline To Release 900 Flight Attendants
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
American Airlines Inc. acknowledged it will furlough 900 flight attendants this summer as part of its employee reduction plan announced in May.
"Employee reductions are expected company-wide comparable with the flight capacity reductions," airline officials said in a release Wednesday. "We recently finalized our fall schedule, which is an important step in determining appropriate staffing levels."
Spokesman Tim Wagner said the flight attendant number was correct but could not give any other figures on staffing.
Last week, the airline said it would also reduce 8 percent of its management and support jobs.
Wagner acknowledged this week American issued WARN notices to employees who may experience an involuntary employment loss.
"A WARN notice is not a layoff notice, but rather a federal requirement and a necessary component – as we carefully and thoughtfully manager the employee reduction process," the official release noted.
"Historically, AA has offered many employee groups voluntary options such as leaves-of-absence and stand-in-stead to reduce the impact of any involuntary reductions. We are hopeful that many employee reductions can be achieved through attrition and other voluntary options."
The company also will offer a Voluntary Bridge to Retirement (VBR) for many U.S.-based and San Juan employees who are age 50 or over with at least 15 years of service.
"These are difficult, but necessary changes given the unprecedented challenges we face with overcapacity in the industry, skyrocketing fuel prices, and a worsening U.S. economy. We will work with all affected employees in this transition," Wagner said.
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