COVID-19 pandemic collapses travel industry; Air Canada to lay off 20,000 workers

#AirCanada; #Covid19Pandemic; #LayOffs; #HugeLosses

Ottawa, May 16 (Canadian-Media): Collapse of air industry due to COVID-19 pandemic, caused Air Canada to reduce its workforce by 50 to 60 percent effective June 7 according to a memo sent by Air Canada to all its employees, media reports said. 

Air Canada. Image credit: Website

"Sadly, today the hard truth is that by every indicator we have available to us, we believe that we will be materially smaller for at least three years," Craig Landry, Air Canada's executive vice-president of operations, said in the memo. 

Approximately 20,000 people would be affected by this downsizing, Air India said in a statement Friday evening.

At a minimum, layoffs will reach half of the current payroll  numbering 19,000 and could go as high as 22,800.

In an attempt to minimize the number of layoffs, Air Canada is also planning to slash the flight attendants' schedules, and asking them to go on leave for up to two years or resign with travel privileges.

There was no direct response by Air Canada to questions if it would drop the wage subsidy program,  extended through August by Ottawa, allowing employees to be rehired.

Although Air Canada's contribution to the wages of the most workers, the airline has been constantly contributing toward pensions and benefits that cost the company more than $1 billion last quarter.

Expected estimates reveal that even if the traffic picks up slightly before year's end, the recovery will be slow, with at least three years of subpar earnings, Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada CEO said last week ​