U.S. Airlines Shed the Most Jobs in 3 Decades After Federal Relief Expired
Photo Credit: American Airlines CEO Doug Parker joined other industry leaders calling on Congress to extend coronavirus aid in September 2020. Skift / Edward Russell
Skift Take
Airlines shed jobs at the fastest rate since 1990 this fall as they slashed costs to weather the coronavirus pandemic. With prospect of additional federal relief still mired in politics, very real questions remain about the industry's ability to ramp up flights once travelers — and the economy — return.
It's a rough time to work for an airline.
In the single largest monthly employment drop since September 1990, U.S. carriers let go of nearly 37,000 people in October, new data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows. The culling followed the expiration of employment protections under the federal coronavirus aid package, or CARES Act, on September 30.
“Terrible Thursday,” as Cowen airline analyst Helane Becker labeled October 1 earlier this year, was very real.
The crisis has hit airlines hard. After posting more than $17 billion in profits in 2019, North American carriers are forecast to lose as much as $46 billion this year, according to the latest estimates from the trade group International Air Transport Association (IATA). Passenger traffic is expected to fall by more than half.
With balance sheets bleeding red and passenger numbers at levels not seen since the 1970s, the industry was forced to cut
