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Jul 2, 2008 2:20 pm US/Central
American May Furlough 900 Flight Attendants
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
American Airlines Inc. acknowledged it could furlough as many as 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. The flight attendant positions would be affected on Aug. 31.
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.
According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, airlines must give a 60-day notice of potential significant employee layoffs and they had received such a notice from American.
"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.
After these voluntary provisions are exhausted, APFA said, American will determine how many of the remaining 900 Flight Attendants are ultimately to be furloughed. After that, flight attendants with the least seniority will be laid off.
American has about 18,000 active flight attendants. The 900 jobs represent about 5 percent of that.
American and sister airline American Eagle expect to spend more than $10 billion on jet fuel this year, up from $6.7 billion last year.
American is the latest airline to put a number on possible job cuts and reduced flying due to rising fuel costs and widening losses.
Continental Airlines Inc. is cutting 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 jets, and offered voluntary-departure packages -- but no cash -- to employees with at least 10 years experience.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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