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United Airlines to Cut 13 Officer Roles Amid COVID-19 Woes

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Per Reuters, United Airlines Holdings (UAL - Free Report) plans to cut 13 officer jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures to deal with the coronavirus-led slump in air travel demand.

The 13 officer positions will be eliminated effective Jun 15. Eight of those removed will continue to be attached with the company through Sep 30. Due to the low-demand environment and the need to operate a smaller airline, United Airlines had warned of a 30% reduction in its administrative staff in October. To avoid furloughs, the carrier is launching programs for employees to accept voluntary leave or early retirement. The company has offered several of its flight attendants with voluntary separation packages.

With a foresight to operate a smaller airline, last week American Airlines Group (AAL - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), revealed plans to cut jobs in the management and support staff team by 30%, to cut costs and match the current demand scenario.


U.S. airlines have been seeing some improvements in demand over the past few weeks, prompting the carriers to increase capacity. United Airlines, carrying a Zacks Rank #3, will be increasing trans-Atlantic service from Washington, D.C. and San Francisco to some of the cities in Europe, starting next month. Additionally, the carrier will resume flights to Tokyo-Haneda, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul. It will also boost capacity across Latin America and the Caribbean. United Airlines’ July capacity is expected to be approximately 75% below normal. This represents an improvement over its current schedule, which is 90% below usual capacity.

Last month, Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) CEO Edward Bastian stated that he hopes to add around 200 flights in June and another 200 or 300 flights in July, amid signs of improvement in domestic travel demand. Delta carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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