Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 02, 2003
American Airlines to Lay Off 2,500 Pilots
American Airlines, the largest carrier in the United States, will lay off 2,500 pilots, or 20 percent of the total, over the next year as it tries to avoid bankruptcy, officials of the airlines' pilot union said on Tuesday.
American Airlines, the largest carrier in the United States, will lay off 2,500 pilots, or 20 percent of the total, over the next year as it tries to avoid bankruptcy, officials of the airlines' pilot union said on Tuesday.
The move is part of the pilot union's 660-million-dollar concessions to save the world's largest airline, said John Darrah,president of the 13,000-member Allied Pilots Association.
American Airlines has 12,000 pilots on its payroll and they have 14 days to ratify the new contract.
The airlines has lost nearly 5.3 billion dollars in the past two years and is on the brink of bankruptcy.
As part of an agreement reached between the airlines and three unions on Monday to avoid the bankruptcy, salaries for pilots, mechanics and flight attendants will also be slashed by 15 percentor more in the coming years.