Thousands of United Airlines employees will be put on unpaid leave as the war with Iraq forces the bankrupt carrier to tighten its belt further, the workers' unions said Thursday.þþMore than 1,100 mechanics at the carrier's state-of-the-art maintenance center in Indianapolis will be let go starting Tuesday, and the facility will be temporarily closed, said Scotty Ford, president of the International Association of Machinists District 141-M.þþIn addition, the airline plans to put about 2,300 more flight attendants on unpaid leave April 1, the Association of Flight Attendants said.þþUnited spokesman Chris Brathwaite declined to confirm the cutbacks. But in a message to employees Thursday, the carrier said the continued decline in passenger bookings related to the Iraq war is forcing United to reduce its schedule and workforce.þþÿThese are extremely difficult times, and there are certainly no easy solutions or quick fixes,ÿ United Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said in a recorded message. ÿWe have absolutely no intention whatsoever of failing, and we have every intention of doing a lot more than simply surviving.ÿþþUnited has plenty of company.þþAmerican Airlines warned Thursday that it is reducing international flights by 6 percent to offset falling ticket sales, and Boeing Co. said it has issued layoff notices to 960 employees, almost all of them in the Seattle area.þþOn Wednesday, Continental Airlines announced it would cut its workforce by about 1,200 through the rest of the year to save $500 million.þþAlthough almost every U.S. carrier is in financial trouble, with the exception of Southwest Airlines, United is in a particularly vulnerable position because it must meet strict financial targets to receive the second part of its bankruptcy financing package.þþOn Monday, the Elk Grove Township-based carrier asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to set aside its labor agreements so it can reduce pay and benefits for its workers. Even as concession talks continued with its unions, United reiterated it might liquidate if it can't substantially lower its costs.þþBecause of the Iraq war, United is idling more of its fleet. Seven 737s, 10 757s and four jumbo 777s will be parked April 1, according to machinist officials. The Indianapolis facility will feel the biggest impact because it specializes in the narrow-body 737s and 757s.þþUnion officials were critical of the way United is handling the situation.þþThough the machinists union ÿrecognizes the additional hardships that war brings to the entire industry, we feel the problems would be better addressed through consensual, ratified agreements than knee-jerk reactions to each emerging crisis,ÿ Ford wrote to members.þþHe said the union was reviewing United's actions with its legal advisers.þþThe carrier's basic message to employees in Indianapolis is simple, said Terri Friend, head of the Employee Assistance Program for IAM District 141-M: ÿWe have no job security with United Airlines.ÿþþFriend, a mechanic at Indianapolis with 26 years of experience, said she likely would be in the second group of mechanics at the center put on unpaid leave April 15. ÿSo I will be polishing up my resume and getting it out there,ÿ she said.þþThe dramatic cutbacks in Indianapolis came as a shock to Mark Moore, director of public finance for the State of Indiana.þþÿWhen we last talked to them, they assured us there would be no surprises and that we would be advised of something like this,ÿ said Moore.þþIndianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Indiana Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan received those assurances during a visit to United's headquarters in early March. ÿWe were told that until the labor agreements were resolved, they weren't making any facility decisions,ÿ Moore said.þþOpened in 1994, the facility was supposed to be the pride of United's maintenance operations, with aircraft parts delivered planeside through a system of conveyor belts.þþThe State of Indiana and City of Indianapolis offered financial assistance to United as long as the facility met certain employment targets. But since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the facility has laid off nearly 1,000 mechanics in three waves, the most recent coming in January.þþFlight attendants already faced 900 furloughs April 1, including 248 involuntary leaves. The new round of unpaid leaves will push furloughs to more than 5,000.þþÿA lot of people are concerned because they have family members who are needing health care. They have children that they have to feed,ÿ Friend said.þþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
