It’s not just frontline employees and office clerical workers at United Airlines who will be taking a hit; some long-term, high-level management employees will also be forced out of the company this autumn.
Live and Let’s Fly received a list of senior staff who will be terminated effective October 1, 2020 (their jobs are also protected until that date under the CARES Act). At least eight senior employees will lose their portions. Furthermore, at least five other officer level positions currently vacant will not be refilled. Although that information was disseminated internally but companywide at United several days ago, I am not going to make it public here.
With one exception.
Jill Kaplan will be leaving the company. She is currently United’s President for New York/New Jersey, a position created in 2017 to promote United in New York City. At the time, United described the position in this way:
“This newly established role, the top market leadership position for United in the region, will lead the promotion of United’s brand within the New York metropolitan area, home to the carrier’s New York/New Jersey hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). Kaplan will work closely with all integral departments including government affairs, marketing, sales and more, as well as with the local airport authority, to ensure United continues on its path to becoming the best airline for its customers, employees and everyone it serves.”
When she joined the company, now-CEO Scott Kirby said:
“As we gain momentum in building a more customer-centric airline, placing a key executive in New York will only increase our ability to deliver on this commitment. Jill will have a singular focus on making United the number one airline in New York and New Jersey, one of the most competitive regions in the world, and I am confident that her leadership will propel United to new heights.”
So was she successful and her services are no longer needed or did United decide that New Yorkers would fly United with or without a President?
Kaplan is talented, witty, and should have no trouble landing a new and better role for herself. My interest is more in United’s strategic decision to abandon this position. Is Janet Lamkin, United’s President of California, also in jeopardy of losing her position?
United Airlines Management Cuts May Not Be Over
The unsigned memo warns that more cuts may be to come:
“These decisions are never easy. Each of these leaders has made significant contributions to the United family during their careers with us and we are a better company because of them. They will spend the next several weeks assisting with transition plans and will remain with the company through September 30. Many of these reorganizations will result in further reporting structure changes for impacted team members and we will share those details in the coming days.”
CONCLUSION
Jobs cuts and restructuring are never easy. With the recovery from the pandemic likely to be much more gradual than initially hoped for, it won’t just be pilots and flight attendants losing jobs, but many senior members of the team whose positions have been consolidated or can no longer be justified during a time of depressed revenue.
I do find the decision to eliminate Kaplan’s position quite interesting, especially as rebuilding traffic in New York will be key in United’s overall recovery efforts.
Good riddance …
they are the ones that break the company .. along with the other 2,800+ Vice Presidents sitting at home right now making anywhere from $350,000 to $3.5 million a year.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out !
Again, there are 67 Vice Presidents at United, not 2800+. Please stop lying and slandering a company to try to make a point.
Thank you, Observer, for clearing up this obvious miscalculation of the facts. United, and all airlines globally, have a lot to deal with in the months and years ahead…FACTS first!
LOL, how true…… ridiculous amount of “CEO” positions which no one at the front-line level recognizes or can define what they are needed for. A “President” for New York, one for California to “ensure United is the best airline” for the region ??? You either have a brand/ product that people want (because you offer good prices, good service, good amenities, etc) or you don’t. United doesn’t. They’ve gone downhill in to total dumb-down territory since the CO/UA merger. How about this concept – offer seating with no charge, first bag free, employees who can think out of the box and actually help people. We don’t need another talking head with a title and no talent. Signed UAL retiree.
Wow! With all due respect to your years of employment, it’s very good you’re not flying anymore. No airline needs that kind of negativity moving forward during a pandemic. Enjoy your retirement.
@Jjo
Negativity ?…… how about reality? You work for United and just willy-nilly accept every bad decision that comes down the pike? I mean if you’re okay with umpteen vice presidents in every department with overkill levels of underlings underneath them, good; hopefully they won’t cause more FA’s and customer service agents to be furloughed than is anticipated. You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth – some comments decrying all your losses and bad things at United and the next bashing coworkers or ex-coworkers for doing the same thing. Hard to follow your line of thinking or your actual stand.
Yeah, thanks, I am enjoying my retirement from United very much; I’m still reaping the benefits of a (fairly) lucrative buyout several years ago and doing tons of travel on my retiree non-rev benefits. Still holding good seniority too because of all the years I put in. By the way, don’t assume every employee who comments is a flight attendant or ex-FA and that it is (your quote) “good you’re not flying anymore”. Maybe it’s good you didn’t work in customer service – everything you say rings of that ever-dreaming Disney experience that United would have you believe actually exists.
Enjoy your diminishing job and diminishing benefits as you “move forward”.
Once again, wow! The difference between you and me, Jo Ellen, is in the decisions we’ve made in our lives. I apologize for assuming you were a flight attendant. (Flight Attendants are “in customer service” by the way.)
I was junior enough to be furloughed, involuntarily, after 9/11. So, I’ve seen a lot in the 21 years I’ve been flying. I was negative, found myself complaining all the time, so I got involved with the AFA and volunteered through the merger. I feel like I’ve been hit in the face over and over again by the company and the union that gave away the seniority that was promised on my first day of training in 1999. Because of that, I could once again be furloughed in October. Not fun, Jo Ellen, but I’m choosing to stay in this volatile industry and I’m choosing to stay informed and knowledgeable about the decisions being made as opposed to being so angry, giving up and blaming others. I know United has too many VPs…those #s were inflated by your friend “Angry United Employee” though…but so does every other major airline. Maybe Covid19 will change that. When you love something so much, sometimes you have to accept things. I’m not going to take a “separation” from the company or a buyout…I’m not giving up on United that easily. I am no where near retirement, but I was a teacher before this and I’ve never worked in an industry with so many negative employees who complain and take so much for granted.
I don’t know you, Jo Ellen, but I wish you continued travel and happiness in retirement. Try not to be such a hater for those of us who CHOOSE to go through life happy.
@Jjo,
Who said anything about being angry or giving up?
…. I decided to hang-in (by my fingernails) during two furloughs (1979 and 1982), huge downturn in the economy and a pilot strike. Maybe because I needed a job with benefits? I didn’t give up. (Medical, dental and travel benefits were actually way better back then). Recalled back to UAL after those furloughs and for a few years I lost my date of hire for seniority based on lost time not worked and then reclassified more than once from full-time to part-time back to full-time, back to part-time. The seniority adjustment was eventually restored to actual date of hire because of employee petitions over a period of many years. I didn’t give up.
Next, 9/11, UAL bankruptcy, ESOP undone (I know employees who lost over $100,000 value of UA stock), wage cuts that set people back big-time, all kinds of adjustments in hours and schedules, pilot slow-down (that was a real trip), involuntary transfers to different locations and lessor jobs, plus, plus, plus.
In between furloughs I actually worked (short-term) for TWA, Northwest and (gasp), People Express (awful) and always with the intention of running full-bore back to United when they recalled me (which thankfully they did). Why? because I loved working for United and I had no ill feelings about being low on the seniority list. United, at one time was the best. I knew it would take years to get to decent seniority… to finally be able to bid a shift that got me off the graveyard or even have half a weekend off. I didn’t give up.
If I was so “angry” as you presume, I would not have hung in through thick and thin for 35+ years working for and with many great employees and no regrets about benefits and travel. To say I’m a “hater” of those who choose to be happy, really ? I may be cynical because I never believed or trusted a lot of the psychobabel with no promises kept. I actually feel sorry for those of you have seniority that is anything less than 25 years; I’d be worried if I were you…. and now with Kirby and his team at the helm, I’d be dusting off my resume. I’ll leave you with this -continue to hang in (you basically have no choice) and hope you keep your full-time position with United.
Right,…. I didn’t give up.
did you write “Untied” on purpose?
Jill Kaplan will be leaving the company. She is currently United’s President for New York/New Jersey, a position created in 2017 to promote Untied in New York City.
Typo
To “Angry United Employee” …
The anger in your posts, about the company you work for, is so sad. Sometimes the negativity you put “out there” comes back and hits you in even more negative ways, so be careful what you wish upon others. Have you ever been forced out of your job at United? Let me define “forced out” …involuntarily furloughed and not volunteering to take time off, having your position go away or getting fired because of unforseen events?
On a positive note, when the airline industry is back up and running, I’d love to see Jill Kaplan take her talents and build momentum to increase flying in Chicago, which remains United’s World Headquarters.
For all those reading this blog, please don’t think all of us at United have this much anger and hatred for our company…yes, we’ve been through a whole heck of a lot, but there are thousands of us who have a strong desire to be see our company at the top again!
LOVE Banksy, Matthew…very cool!
Apparently you have drowned in the Kool Aid that the company has shoved down your throat …
I’ve been laid off more then once in 25 years .. so don’t give me that crap ! I’ve paid my dues I have the right to complain and much as you do to drink the poison United gives you !
Keep being a sheep and being walked to slaughter ..
Yet you still go back to work for them each time you get laid off…
You are so angry! I’ve been INVOLUNTARILY furloughed twice after 9/11, lost my seniority, volunteered (on off days) to work for AFA to “make a difference” because I found myself complaining too much. I volunteered until AFA chose not to represent us when the merged seniority list ignored our true “date of hire” (which will most likely affect me in October). If you are 25 years at United, when we’re you “involuntarily” furloughed and when did you lose the seniority # that was promised to you on your first day of training? I still support AFA, but don’t kid yourself, there’s Kool Aid there too…and sometimes it’s the same flavor!
Hey this is a PANDEMIC May we all come out of this stronger , better, KINDER. UAL 31 year
Please forgive me but I don’t understand your purpose. Your tittle and a statement announcing that “At least eight senior employees will lose their positions”, but then decided not to reveal who they are to the readers. Then why not wait until UA makes it public?
Because if you’ve been following my coverage of front-line and M&A staff cuts, you’ll note the constant complaint is that the upper ranks are too bloated. This is no different than not naming individual employees who will be laid off of a lower rank. I’m not talking about C-Suite people. I’m talking about the Vice President level. One reason I mentioned Kaplan is because she is a prominent figure with public name recognition. The others are not so well known.
Thanks for your explanation! If UA in fact has 2,800+ VP’s as reader AngryUnitedEmployee stated which I believe is true, then statistically speaking “letting 8 VP’s go” is only about 0.3% of that group. Very insignificant figure.
Yes .. that is a fact 2,800+ VP’s over 35 different departments ..
Yet the frontline employees such as Flight Attendants, Pilots, Mechanics, Luggage workers, Customer Service agents get blamed for all the companies problem with the crap hits the fan every 7-10 years.
If the company was a building it would have topped over many many years ago.
The disconnect from upper management is indeed real …
Forcing ridiculous money wasting programs such as CORE4 after the David Dao incident and trying pull a fast one on Customer Service and ramp handlers even after they knowing accepted almost $5 billion dollars from the American taxpayers.
I will repeat a tidbit ..
Do you really think my $60,000 a year really break the company ??
Or the 2,800+ VP’s that make anywhere from $350,000 to $3.5 million break it ???
Thank you Former UA1K for listening !!!
Why are you making things up? Look at the org chart you can count the VPs, there aren’t 2,800. There are plenty of reasons to be an “AngryUnitedEmployee” but having 2,800 VPs isn’t one of them.
This is patently false. There are currently 67 Vice Presidents at United, 8 of which will laid-off and 5 of whom left previously, but whose positions won’t be filled. This is widely reported in the media and easy to verify. I have no idea where this 2800+ number came from, but it’s verifiably a lie that’s being used to defame United.
“Is Janet Lamkin, United’s President of California, also in jeopardy of losing her position?”
It would seem that you already have the list. Please share.
She’s not on the list. It surprised me that Kaplan is and she is not.
@AndyK,
I can only hope she on the list. Why these two even exist to “lead United’s brand” in their respective regions (EWR and LAX) defies logic. By the way, they have only been in these newly created positions for just a few years (2-3, if that ??).
United !!!! – you either have a product/brand that people already want/ gravitate to or you don’t. You don’t…… so fix it – provide front-line employees with thinking out of the box, decision making ability instead of fear. You don’t need to pay two people hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to wield their title, travel around the system and basically hold up a billboard for United Airlines. I’m sure they’re not the only two sitting on their dead behinds – probably hundreds more behind the scenes doing nothing right now but getting paid over-inflated wages.
Jo Ellen,
I think you and I have more things in common with our careers at United than not…although yours is much more interesting. I wish you no ill will. But if you re-read your posts to me, I don’t know if you can say the same.
There’s much more going on in the world these days to banter back and forth…so, I surrender. Peace and happiness!
thanks
I’d wonder if they will move to a more “regional VP” type of structure.. outside of ORD, IAH, DEN, SFO/LAX (yes, I’d combine SFO/LAX into one VP) and IAD which, given their current (and I suspect foreseeable future) size, I can see a need for a dedicated VP-level type person on hand… but, outside of these hubs, I’ll bet they could run with 4 regional VPs- say a East/Mid Atlantic (basically from the Carolinas north and east of IAD incl Canada east), South (Carolinas and south and west to Texas), central (from west of IAD, north of Texas to Denver plus central Canada), west (all west of Denver non-hubs, the HNL complex and the few western Canada stations)… internationally- Pacific (so that’s All of China, Japan, ICN, TPE, incl HNL, MNL going down to SIN as well as the hopper) Europe (Europe obviously plus east to India) and the Americas (everything from Mexico south incl the carribbean)
You’re spot on fir the hubs. ORD, IAH, DEN, SFO, IAD, and EWR all have their own VP to run each hub. LAX has an MD, but I agree that SFO VP could also run the show at LAX. That wasn’t announced in Friday’s email but could see it happening.
Regarding all line non-hub line stations: They will be merged under one VP of Domestic and International Line Stations. Previously international and domestic had their own VP
Not sure why the 30% M&A cuts are being described as applying to “office clerical workers “. M&A is basically all salaried employees, in a variety of rolls from network planning to loyalty to finance– very little of which falls under the “clerical” banner.
Also, UA has fewer than 100 VPs, not 2000+ as some seem to believe.
Not entirely true, that M&A (Management and Administrative) is salaried employees. That includes ALL of the administrative staff at all the locations. Most locations have just as many Admins as management. Admins are lower level hourly employees.
United flies to about 20 cities in Mexico, 14 of which are tiny, unheard of places (except to the locals?), a carryover from die-hard Continental hanging on to them, not to mention holding real-estate for and running “city ticket offices” all over Mexico and Central America. Talk about a waste of money and resources – they’ve cut back on service to huge international cities but still feel the need to fly into all these places in Mexico. Maybe, United, you need another “CEO” to assess this excessive waste?
Dear AngryUnitedEmployee why you don’t go find other job
Please is not good for you
Stress kill ,
Yes sometime the management don’t listen the employees or the make to much money
But life is to short today we are tomorrow we don’t know
Enjoy life before is to late
Don’t get stress out