American Airlines to lay off 19,000 employees in October

American Airlines has said that it will eliminate 19,000 employees by 1 October, as it is working to recover from the sharp recession in travel industry as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said on Tuesday August 25, 2020, that it planned to end the services of thousands of its workers early next October due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation sector.

American Airlines will be laying off some of its workers due to the pandemic and the end of the assistance provided under the terms of a federal aid package worth 25 billion dollars allocated to airlines in the United States.

Many travel workers will face the cuts due to the plan of the airline to cut thousands of positions, including flight attendants who will be facing the greatest number of cuts and about 1,600 pilots losing their jobs.

“Across the mainline and regional carriers, more than 12,500 of our colleagues have made the difficult decision to leave the company permanently through early out programmes or retirement,” it said.

Another 11,000 team members have offered to be on a leave of absence in October, the company said.

American airlines said jobs will be cut, forcing the thousands of its employees out of job unless there is an extension of the Payroll Support Programme (PSP) – known as emergency relief issued by the federal government to help carriers cover payroll costs.

American Airlines, is the American national airline, and takes Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as a center for its operations in addition to its other centers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Miami International Airport.

The company’s headquarters is located in Fort Worth, the fifth largest city in Texas, the United States.

Airlines in the world have been affected greatly since the emergence of the virus, as a result of the suspension of air traffic, which led to large losses for airlines.