Without Fed Help, American Air To Cut Nearly 1K Jobs In Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC — Amid growing financial strains from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two major U.S. airlines announced tens of thousands of job cuts Thursday. The combined layoffs announced by United Airlines and American Airlines are predicted to put at least 32,000 workers out of a job, including about 900 in the Charlotte metro area, according to reports.

The cuts, which will begin Oct. 1 when current pandemic federal payroll assistance runs out, became a necessity due to the lack of an extension of federal coronavirus stimulus funding that included $25 billion in relief for airlines, airline leaders said.

The layoff of at least 32,000 workers stands to make Oct. 1 the worst day of aviation job losses in the industry's history, CNN said.

"We implore our elected leaders to reach a compromise, get a deal done now, and save jobs," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a memo to airline workers, CNN reported.

American, which has a hub in Charlotte, has seen a traffic drop of about 70 percent this year, Bloomberg reported. The Oct. 1 cuts would impact about 19,000 of its workers, with the vast majority — about 17,500 — furloughed.

The cuts could include furloughs of about 900 American Airline workers based at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, WBTV reported.

“The last thing we want to do is furlough employees," said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, who is in Washington, D.C. lobbying for the payroll relief package. “It keeps all of us employing our workers even though there isn’t enough work for them right now."

One Charlotte-based American Air flight attendant told the news station that she's been worried about her job for months. "It’s been very tough trying to plan ahead and find another job," Sara Gallman told WBTV. "I’m getting rejection emails for things I’m not qualified for, I’m hearing I’m overqualified for.”