TULSA, Okla. — American Airlines plans to issue WARN notices to 13,000 of its employees on Friday.
What’s a WARN notice?
WARN stands for worker adjustment and retraining notification. The notices may be required by law in certain locations in advance of potential furloughs. They do not necessarily mean furloughs will happen
In a letter to employees, officials said American Airlines is in a similar position to 2020 when it comes to the pandemic's impact on air travel and the expiration of the Payroll Support Program (PSP) in April led them to the decision to send the notices.
The airline said it's flying 45% less than the same time-frame in 2019.
Leaders said they are working with union leaders and other options to mitigate job impact as much as possible, including supporting union leaders to urge Congress to extend PSP through Sept. 30, opening a voluntary early out program, and opening at long-term voluntary leave of absence programs.
These programs include:
- Early out program for team members with 10 or more years of workgroup seniority: An early out offering for team members with at least 10 years of workgroup seniority. This program includes up to $150,000 in a Retiree Health Reimbursement Arrangement for 65-point plan retirement-eligible team members, as well as some positive space travel.
- Early out program for team members with less than 10 years of workgroup seniority: An early out offering for team members who have less than 10 years of workgroup seniority. This program will provide continuation of active medical coverage and non-rev travel privileges for a period of time.
- Extended leave program: Extended leaves of 12 or 18 months that provide continued medical coverage at active rates, continued non-rev travel privileges and partial pay.
This story was originally published by Caitlin Huggins at KJRH.
