American Airlines planning to cut 1,500 more jobs

[Omaha Steve]

Source: McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Jul 19, 2008 Fort Worth Star-Telegram -

-- American Airlines has told union officials that about 1,300 mechanics positions, plus about 200 fleet-support personnel, could be eliminated this fall as part of the carrier's plan to trim its route network and work force.

As the airline has done with flight attendants and pilots, the company will first offer buyouts to senior workers, said Tim Wagner, an American spokesman. The airline previously said it intends to eliminate 900 flight-attendant positions and 200 pilots.

The cuts will be spread among American's maintenance bases, the largest of which is in Tulsa, where about 6,500 mechanics work, Wagner said. There are about 1,900 mechanics at Alliance Airport in far north Fort Worth, 900 in Kansas City, Mo., and several thousand at other airports.

The Transport Workers Union represents American's mechanics and other fleet-support workers. Tim McAninley, communications coordinator of the union's Air Transport Division, said it's too early to tell how many workers will be affected at each facility.


Read more: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1769036/

[Doctor Cynic]

1. Coming Soon: a $15 Checking the Plane for Microscopic Cracks fee.

[BearSquirrel2]

2. Coming later ...

Coming later ... more travel by train.

[EvilAL]

4. Coming later..

more accidents due to maintenance cut backs.

[physioex]

3. Actually....

I thought the pay-per-use toilet would come first.

[AdHocSolver]

5. Last year, Consumer Reports ran an article about airlines outsourcing airline maintenance.

The airlines were sending the planes to places like El Salvador and Hong Kong, away from FAA oversight, to have repairs and inspections done.

To get away cheaply and increase profit, more and more work is being done on critical systems by people with less than stellar credentials and unknown capabilities.

The politicizing (and "privatizing") of the FAA has turned that agency into a rubber stamp for whatever the corporations want to do. Ditto for the FCC, the EPA, the SEC, the FDA, and every regulatory agency. These agencies are no longer watchdogs of the public interest.

The move to eliminate maintenance jobs began a few years ago with the offshoring of those jobs. Maintaining quality and safety does not seem to be a priority at U.S. airline companies such as American.

[uppityperson]

6. They are firing mechanics? What?

[truthisfreedom]

7. Just about as many people as Obama's campaign will employ.

Fixing America one employee at a time.

[BlueCollar]

8. I doubt Obama's campaign

will come close to replacing the compensation package of a mechanic who has been laid-off and hits the streets.

Maybe Obama can do something to stabilise the fuel prices and reduce/eliminate outsourcing of maintenance to third party shops overseas...

[ForrestGump]

9. They're doing it wrong

If they're going to cut anywhere, they should cut 1500 executive jobs.

[paparush]

10. How big of a pay/benefits cut are the EXECS taking? What are they giving up?

Are they slashing their salaries? Giving back their bonuses? Refusing their retirement matching dollars?