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Home » United Airlines » Terrible Thursday: United Airlines Furloughs Over 13,000 Workers
United Airlines

Terrible Thursday: United Airlines Furloughs Over 13,000 Workers

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 1, 2020October 1, 2020 22 Comments

United Separation Packages

On a day in which over 32,000 airline workers in the United States will lose their jobs, I want to take a moment to focus on the 13,000 employees who now face furloughs or separation from United Airlines.

Why focus on United when American Airlines is laying off over 19,000? Well, because United is the airline I fly most often and because I know so many workers personally who will be laid off today. To call them “family” might be a stretch, but there’s a particular pain for these job losses.

What United Airlines Told Employees About Furloughs

Here’s what United shared with employees last night concerning today’s furloughs:

Today is a very sad day for all of us here at United.

As you know, Congress has been negotiating another stimulus bill to address the economic impact of COVID-19 and there is strong bipartisan support. But despite a chorus of voices advocating for an extension of the CARES Act Payroll Support Program – a coalition that included industry groups, other airlines, our union partners, senior leadership at United and many of you – Congress has still not taken action.

The CARES Act Payroll Support Program funding for our airline expires today, September 30. That means after months of aggressive cost-cutting and proactive debt-raising actions to manage the company through the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on our business, we regrettably are forced to move forward with the process of involuntarily furloughing about 13,000 of our United team members.

And while sadly, involuntary furloughs begin today, we haven’t given up.

In a continuing effort to give the federal government every opportunity to act, we have made clear to leadership in the Administration, Congress and among our union partners that we can and will reverse the furlough process if the CARES Act Payroll Support Program is extended in the next few days. We implore our elected leaders to reach a compromise, get a deal done now, and save jobs.

As you know, we started the involuntary furlough process earlier this summer when we issued WARN notices to 36,000 of our employees. We later decreased that figure by more than half to about 16,000 United employees who would be notified of an involuntary furlough effective as early as October 1. And since then, we’ve also worked to further reduce the total number of furloughs by working closely with our union partners, introducing new voluntary options, and proposing creative solutions that would save jobs.

The pandemic has devastated travel demand, from international restrictions to domestic quarantines to overall weakness in customer bookings. But throughout – and in spite of – the challenges of the past eight months, all of our employees have demonstrated how much they care about each other and our customers. To our departing 13,000 family members: thank you for your dedication and we look forward to welcoming you back.

United CEO Scott Kirby also recorded a video to employees expressing similar sentiment and hope that he could soon welcome back all employees to full-time service.

It isn’t clear why Congress and the White House could not come together on a last-minute aid package when there does seem to be broad bipartisan support for it. It is also true that should Congress pass a package this week or next that is signed by the President, these workers could quickly be called back into service.

Hang Tough Dear Ones

I cannot help but to think of the trite but true cliche of Dr. Robert H. Schuller, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!”

This is a time for introspection, a time for sadness, but also a time for turning over new leaves. For some, this will be an opportunity to branch out and try something new and different that will lead to great personal growth. May you never look back. For others, especially those who loved their work and had no desire to leave, this will be a difficult season.

But despite all the encumbrances that ensnare the human race, human beings demonstrate a remarkable resiliency. Please don’t despair. I know what it is like to lose your livelihood. You are so much more than your career.

And to the rest of my readers. Let’s understand that for every one of the 13,000 at United or 32,000 across the industry, there is a human being with a story. Let’s start this month off with a little more empathy and a little less snark.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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22 Comments

  1. Mitch Cumstein Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 7:04 am

    Any idea what percentage of United’s workforce the 13k represents?

    • Kathy Reply
      October 1, 2020 at 11:17 am

      When I left United last year there were about 95k employees.

      Keep in mind many thousands also took voluntary separation packages on top of the 13k so the airline has shrunk significantly more than the 13k.

    • Mike D Reply
      October 1, 2020 at 7:38 pm

      I love how united blames the federal Govt and not them self.

      • Randy Wayne Jackson Reply
        October 1, 2020 at 8:34 pm

        Exactly!!

      • Chris Reply
        October 2, 2020 at 12:19 pm

        I didn’t see where they (United) blamed anyone. They have been clear all along that without government aid they simply cannot maintain the size of the current workforce. And why should they take the blame upon themselves? Let me guess? Last year’s stock buybacks! How would that have changed the current situation and the need to reduce the cash burn? Yes they would have possibly had more money on hand but they have been burning through cash at an unsustainable rate given current demand. There may have been things that could have been managed better but I would say they have been navigating this crisis and communicating with their employees (myself included) better than most.

  2. Ryan Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 7:14 am

    Yesterday the worlds greatest regional sunk quietly into the night. Expressjet airlines 34 year history is over and since the regional jet era, we have maintained a perfect safety record and were (by far) United’s strongest performing regional in just about every service and on-time metric. Add to the 13,000 another 4,0000 that represented the United brand probably better than United themselves.

    • Mitch Cumstein Reply
      October 1, 2020 at 8:48 am

      Did you work there? What’s your take on why CommutAir edged out Expressjet? Have you landed somewhere else?

      EJ was a great airline, RIP.

      • Ian Reply
        October 1, 2020 at 11:28 am

        Commutair was simply cheaper, nothing more nothing less. RIP XJT

    • Veronica Uhlig Reply
      October 2, 2020 at 11:12 am

      Yes!! I was a f/a with them for 14 yrs almost to the day of our doors closing. Now our competition is trying to hire our pilots at a cheaper wage. Subodh was running Commuteair the whole time while being CEO of Manaair (the contract with United) there was never any negotiations. They knew from day 1 they were getting rid of us. United furloughing their own ppl because they rely heavily upon regionals because its cheaper. United has 5 regionals running their routes. The only real United flying was long haul flights. That they reduced. They’re not flying to a lot of places Spirit, Southwest and JetBlue are flying. They could but they won’t because it’s all about CEO and shareholder money.

  3. Eric Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 8:42 am

    I’m all for some level of safety net but continuing to subsidize an industry that will not fully recover regardless of how much support it receives is a horribly inefficient way to stimulate a broader economic recovery.

  4. Santastico Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 11:17 am

    I wonder if this represents an opportunity for airlines to reshape their future. Do they really need all those workers? Seriously, this is sad for those losing their jobs airlines cannot be managed the same way they were forever. I once worked for a big multinational company with over 150k employees around the world. One day while talking to a top executive of the company he shared the following: “If from tonight to tomorrow morning, 20% of our work force disappears, nobody will notice it.” Wow!!!! That was jaw dropping to hear but from that day I started paying attention how many people were just there doing duplicate things and just showing up to work without being very productive. That has to change. Thus, maybe this is a great opportunity for airlines to review their workforce and be smaller and more nimble.

    • JoEllen Reply
      October 1, 2020 at 12:59 pm

      I totally agree and that is why, even though unionized, furloughed (ie., ground staff) have five+ (?) years of recall, you can bet that UAL and so many other airlines will now have a real chance to look at their numbers (equipment, routing, staff, etc) and how they will or will not go up in X amount of years. This in turn will cause many furloughed employees NOT to be recalled or, by seniority, be recalled slowly and cautiously. Especially so with Scott Kirby, head bean-counter of all times. I do feel for all of these people with slim to no chance of working in the same or even other travel industry jobs. Nothing like looking forward to working for Amazon in a warehouse full of unappreciated employees or acquiring a supervisor half your age dictating orders.

      • Santastico Reply
        October 1, 2020 at 1:42 pm

        I remember a long time ago I was flying on AA from JFK to GRU. I was on coach and a nice elderly FA sat in front of me on the jump seat before landing. We engaged in a conversation. I asked her how many times she flew every month. Her response: I fly this round trip and then I am done for the month. I said: You only fly 2 flights per month? Her response: “I fly the minimum to keep all my benefits.” Then she shared she had other jobs while she was not flying, etc…. Again, that was a long time ago so not sure if that still applies to today’s situation but I wonder how much does a person like that cost to the airline?

  5. Cynthia Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 11:44 am

    It’s actually, I think , more than 13,000, as some flight attendants had to agree to zero hour lines for possibly up to 13 months, so they can’t work either. They are allowed to pick up trips from other flight attendants not to exceed 35 hours a month, but this is not guaranteed that they actually can find trips to pick up, as everyone will want to work , and there may be no trips to pick up.

  6. derek Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    How could UA furlough thousands of people with no notice? My guess is that the October schedule was already made and the people who bid for work trips already got their assignments. Possibly it is those that have no assignments are the ones furloughed?

    • Bob Reply
      October 1, 2020 at 12:27 pm

      There has been notice since the spring that this was a possibility. Official notices went out back in August to those that would be affected.

  7. YoniPDX Reply
    October 1, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    Scott Kirby has the dubuious honor of having RIF’d more airline employees than any other airline executive in history. As President, CEO or C-Suite exec at: AWE (Cactus), USA, AAL, and now UAL.  

  8. Luis Pinho Reply
    October 2, 2020 at 12:41 am

    I fly American and just like you – the workers are our friend. I adore a lot of those guys. Made great friendships over the years and I feel sad with these endless bad news. But hope these companies will make through these hard time and come back stro ger!

  9. Robb Reply
    October 2, 2020 at 6:26 am

    So he blames Congress for not giving them free tax payer money? So its just fine that the tax payers pay the United employees? What ever happened to Capitalism?

  10. Veronica Uhlig Reply
    October 2, 2020 at 10:58 am

    United had no problem severing it’s relationship with Expressjet, I worked at for 14 yrs until they got rid of us. 3,000 of us gone…no calling us back because we no longer exist. Subodh, a horrible CEO, (also known for shutting down another airline) says he tried negotiating but come to find out he owns Manaair that holds the contract with United and he also runs Commuteair that got our contract. Conflict of interest? United and Subodh don’t give an f about employees. Oh and what ever happened with that missing United executive? These corporations are about lining their pockets that’s all and anybody ie employees are disposable. They wanna get rid of ppl to save their bonuses and keep their quarterly earnings. United killed 3,000 jobs now they say they need to get rid of more. How about reducing their 5 regional carriers and supporting their own flying? Nope because regional airlines pay dirty wages and the United employees get paid twice as much. United and all the other airlines didn’t take 9/11 as a wake up call to have a back up plan in place therefore they will not survive. 2 stimulus packages are band aid not a real solution.

    • JoEllen Reply
      October 2, 2020 at 1:32 pm

      No offense but why did you stay with Expressjet all those years and not get into one of the majors? None of them are by any means the greatest but if you had at least ten years with one of them you may not be out of this industry (for good).

  11. Brandon Reply
    October 2, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    I think it’s funny that no one is blaming the airline unions for this. They had 6 months since the original CARES act was passed and instead of working with the airlines to reach an agreement that saved more, if not all jobs, through shared sacrifice, they instead made deals to save their senior members and then place the onus on congress to protect the remaining airline jobs, which I believe is the airline unions responsibility not the American people. Further, as someone else mentioned, why extend another lifeline to an industry that is badly in need of restructuring, given the horrible outlook that has been detailed by several economists. What’s going to happen in 6 months when airline travel is still 40% of what it used to be? It’s pointless to continue paying people when there is no work for them and just delaying inevitable.

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