FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- American Airlines will lay off more than 3,100 flight attendants on July 1 as part of recently approved labor concessions. The announcement late Wednesday was expected.þþAmerican recently won employee approval for $1.8 billion in annual labor concessions, including $340 million from flight attendants, that the cash-strapped carrier said it needed to avoid bankruptcy.þþAmerican said recently that it sent layoff notices to 5,000 flight attendants late last month, warning that they could be laid off as early as July 1. About one-third of the attendants were based in St. Louis and had worked for Trans World Airlines, which American's parent company bought in 2001.þþThe number of layoffs among flight attendants was larger than the 2,400 cuts required under the new contract -- approved last month as American teetered on bankruptcy. Company officials have said the additional layoffs were necessary because some employees had returned from voluntary leaves of absence, swelling the work force.þþAmerican spokesman Todd Burke said the company was able to reduce the number of flight attendants being laid off to 3,123 because of voluntary leaves. A total of 1,545 flight attendants are taking voluntary leaves.þþThe layoffs are in reverse seniority order, meaning those who have been with the company the least time receive notices first.þþAmerican also plans to trim 2,200 pilots and 1,200 ground workers. The first pilots are expected to receive layoff notices on June 1.þþChief executive Gerard Arpey has said the labor concessions are vital to the airline's effort to return to financial stability. Parent company AMR Corp. lost more than $5.2 billion over the past two years and another $1 billion in the first three months of 2003.þþ
Source: NY Times
