Air Canada cuts 1,500 more jobs and cancels 17 more routes
Canada’s most important airline has informed 1,500 of its workers that they’re going to soon be out of jobs as a result of new travel constraints and a spectacular reduction in demand from customers for flying.
The airline will “quickly lower its unionized workforce by 1,500 men and women and by an as-nonetheless-undetermined quantity of management positions,” Air Canada advised CBC Information.
The shift comes on the heels of a conclusion very last 7 days to quickly shut down all Rouge flights, which resulted in the loss of 80 positions.
“This is due to the federal government’s introduction of a required quarantine on arrival as properly as the ongoing suspension of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean,” the airline’s largest union CUPE said.
At the very least 900 of the work opportunities shed will appear from CUPE members.
“We respect the will need for steps to protect against the unfold of new variants of COVID-19 in Canada,” said Wesley Lesosky, who represents the Air Canada ingredient of CUPE. “But restrictions have to be accompanied by options.”
Route suspensions
The airline is also shutting down provider on 17 much more routes starting following week like:
- Toronto to Fort Myers, Fla.
- Toronto to Boston.
- Toronto to Washington, D.C. (Reagan)
- Toronto to Denver
- Toronto to New York City (LaGuardia)
- Montreal to Boston.
- Montreal to LaGuardia.
- Vancouver to Seattle.
- Toronto to Bogotá, Colombia.
- Toronto to Dubai.
- Toronto to São Paulo, Brazil.
- Toronto to Hong Kong.
- Toronto to Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Montreal to Bogotá, Colombia.
- Vancouver to London, U.K.
- Vancouver to Tokyo (Narita).
- Toronto to Dublin, Ireland.
“Impacted consumers with bookings will be contacted with options, which include alternate routings,” Air Canada explained.
Calgary-based mostly impartial airline analyst Rick Erickson, who has no monetary romance with Air Canada, referred to as the news “a further significant, really serious blow to Canada’s air provider sector.”
The occupation cuts suggest that Air Canada has primarily cut its workforce in 50 percent, from approximately 40,000 people right before the pandemic to about 20,000 right now. WestJet has slice even deeper, he says, from 14,000 personnel in advance of to only about 3,500 currently.
Erickson suggests he was extra shocked by the route suspensions, simply because they are not all to the U.S. and Caribbean sun locations that new journey rules qualified.
Air Canada pulling out of these routes would not do a lot to limit travel, mainly because foreign airlines will very likely maintain their support.
“The scenario is dire,” he stated. “The air carriers have had no decision but to proceed to make cuts.”