Federal airline aid aims to save jobs, but workers still face cuts – By Kelly Yamanouchi (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) / April 2 2020
The federal airline industry bailout is aimed at preventing carriers from cutting jobs and pay.
But the massive package hasn’t stopped Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and other carriers from already shrinking their workforces and announcing plans to slash hours and pay in recent weeks. And there could be more such cuts in the coming months.
Contract workers — a large and growing portion of the U.S. airline industry’s labor force — appear particularly vulnerable amid fewer job protections than employees as carriers look to axe costs amid a plunge in air travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The local stakes are high. Delta, the dominant carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson International, has 90,000 employees, including more than 36,000 in Georgia, and as many as 90,000 additional contract workers.
Delta said in recent weeks it is reducing many employees’ pay and cutting work by contractors. It also encouraged employees last month to sign up for unpaid leave, getting more than 21,000 takers.
Continue to article: https://www.ajc.com/business/employment/federal-airline-aid-aims-save-jobs-but-workers-still-face-cuts/LdW7SSqMU0UyeGxSRzp4BN/
