American Airlines May Soon Send Furlough Notices As Pandemic Takes Toll On Industry

American Airlines will reportedly be sending furlough warnings to its employees within the week. According to sources close to the matter speaking to Reuters, the airline will also be offering early retirement packages to some employees to encourage them to leave the company voluntarily.

“Our expectation is that [the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act] notices will be sent next week,” Chip Long, American’s managing director of flight line operations, said in an audio message from July 10 obtained by CNBC. “Again, our hope is to very soon engage with APA and seriously explore every opportunity to take care of our pilots while taking care of our airline.”

The WARN Act requires employers to give notice about possible layoffs or furloughs 60 days ahead of time. It is unknown how many American employees will receive these notices and it is not guaranteed that all who get them will actually be let go.

American Airlines previously stated that it expects to have around 20,000 more employees than needed by the fall. The company reportedly has a workforce of over 133,000.

“We currently anticipate having 20 to 30% — or more than 20,000 — more team members on payroll than we need to operate our schedule this fall,” CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said in a note to employees. “To be clear, this doesn’t mean 20,000 of our team members will be furloughed in October, it simply means we still have to work to do to right-size our team for the airline we operate.”

The $25 billion federal bailout for airline companies disallowed any that received relief funding from cutting pay or jobs until Sept. 30.

However, the pandemic has forced airlines to begin prepping for potential cuts in the future. In June, Delta Airlines warned over 2,500 of its pilots that furloughs may be on the horizon. United also warned nearly 36,000 employees, including around 2,000 of its pilots, about potential cuts or roughly 40% of its entire workforce.