Wednesday, April 18, 2012

American Air plans to cut 1,200 non-union jobs

American-Air-plans American Airlines plans to eliminate another 1,200 jobs as part of its plan to cut costs in bankruptcy, the company said in a letter to employees on Wednesday.

Affected jobs include non-union passenger and cargo agents, sky caps, and baggage service workers at smaller airports, including Memphis, Reno, Sacramento and Portland, Oregon.

American previously announced plans to eliminate 13,000 union jobs, or roughly 15 percent of its workforce, as part of an overall drive to save roughly $1.25 billion in annual labor costs.

The latest cuts would come on top of that, the company said.

As part of Wednesday's announcement, No. 3 American said it would also close its southwestern reservations center in Tucson. Those workers, however, will be offered jobs elsewhere or set up as home-based employees.

American will also close its Admirals Clubs at Washington Dulles and Kansas City.

The latest changes, which do not require approval of the New York bankruptcy court, are expected to take place within the next few months, American said.

Other major rivals also cut thousands of jobs when they restructured in bankruptcy several years ago, emerging as leaner and tougher competitors.

AMR, the parent of American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy in November.

The company has also sought permission from the court to void union contracts, including those covering pilots, flight attendants and ground workers.

A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Monday.

(Reporting By John Crawley; Editing by Gary Hill)
Reuters

 
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