American Airlines to cut 19,000 jobs in October

American Airlines is to cut 19,000 jobs on October 1 as a result of the corona crisis and the expectation that the recovery from the crisis will take years.

The job losses are accompanied by temporary leave and employees retiring. As a result, American Airlines’ workforce will shrink by 30 percent compared to its size at the start of the pandemic, from 140,000 to fewer than 100,000 employees.

Among pilots, cabin crew and mechanics, 17,500 jobs will be lost, while a further 1,500 management and administrative positions will be cut.

“We were counting on the virus to be under control by the end of September and air travel demand to be back up. That is clearly not the case,” CEO Doug Parker said in a statement. The US government’s bailout package expires on October 1.

American Airlines will operate less than half of its normal number of flights in the fourth quarter.

Competitor Delta Air Lines indicated on Monday that it would fire nearly 2,000 pilots if no deal is reached on a substantial salary reduction.