United Airlines to furlough 2,820 at DIA
DENVER — In the largest single mass layoff or furlough in Colorado this year, United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) reported to state regulators Wednesday plans to temporarily eliminate 2,820 jobs at Denver International Airport.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on travel demand and on our business. Governmental restrictions on travel, stay-at-home orders, and the lack of a medical solution for the virus brought bookings and demand for travel to a near standstill,” United wrote in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing processed Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. “And while demand has moved slightly upward from its April low, down 95%, we have lost billions of dollars over this three-month period and are still spending far more than we are taking in. Additionally, we expect that travel demand will not go back to ‘normal’ until there is a vaccine for COVID-19.
WARN notices are generally required when a company with more than 100 employees has a mass layoff or closes.
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Furloughs are set to begin Oct. 1 and are expected to last six months or longer.
“The number of employment separations that will occur may ultimately decrease if we are able to reach creative solutions with our union partners or if there is significant participation in voluntary programs to reduce payroll expense,” United’s WARN filing said. Should the furloughs not be enough to bring labor costs in line with reduced revenue, United “will need to take other steps such as workforce reductions.”
United has informed 36,000 workers, or about a third of its total workforce, that they could be furloughed.
