The job cuts are part of American’s efforts to rightsize its business following years of record hiring across the industry. Other airlines are cutting too.
Agoda trimmed jobs in Singapore, Shanghai, and Budapest, but the layoffs aren’t what landed the online travel agency in trouble. The bigger controversy is how the company warned employees not to seek help from authorities or unions, with severance pay on the line if they did.
Brand USA's downsizing was almost inevitable after Congress torpedoed its funding this summer. Whether it can be effective in promoting tourism given the U.S. political climate remains to be seen.
Hyatt didn't say if AI tools would be used to replace the employees, but hotels are increasingly turning to AI to handle customer service and back-office tasks.
Booking Holdings resumed hiring fairly aggressively after the pandemic, but is now trimming its workforce as part of a plan to get a handle on costs. A major part of the reorganization is to figure out the best areas for investment.
Was Booking Holdings getting too fat? With operating costs outpacing revenue growth, something had to give. We might not know the exact chess moves for awhile.