United Airlines announced that it may have to layoff more than a third of its workforce as the coronavirus continues its spread around the country and around the world, according to a CNN report.
Facing a significant reduction in business due to reduced travel, United may lay off as many as 36,000 employees from its 96,000 workforce. It’s currently flying a quarter of its traditional flights daily.
Earlier, United had distributed warnings to some of its employees that they may face an involuntary furlough in the near future, but they did not enact significant layoffs because tens of thousands of employees took a voluntary unpaid leave at the company’s urging.
Calling the potential layoffs a “gut punch,” Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA called United’s statement “the most honest assessment we’ve seen on the state of the industry.”