Frontier Notifies 1,484 Employees Of Potential Furlough
DENVER (CBS4) - Frontier Airlines sent notices of potential furloughs to approximately 35% of its pilots and flight attendants on Friday. The Denver-based airline tells CBS4 the 1,484 employees could be furloughed as soon as Oct. 1.
Frontier employs 2,634 flight attendants and 1,590 pilots, including 758 captains and 832 officers. On Friday, 925 flight attendants and 559 pilots received WARN notices that they could be furloughed.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 requires employers to give notice at least 60 days before a large-scale furlough, layoff or plant closure.
American Airlines filed a WARN notice on July 17, announcing a planned furlough of 107 employees by Oct. 1. Officials said those furloughs are expected to be temporary.
United Airlines also issued a WARN notice to layoff about 2,800 Colorado employees by Oct. 1. Passenger traffic for United is expected to be down 75% this month.
United says it cannot continue at the current payroll level past October in an environment where travel demand is so depressed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter, United's CEO said, "While the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act helped to protect jobs through September 30, it only covers a part of our normal monthly payroll cost and none of our sizable operating expense. That is why we have been so aggressive and proactive in reducing costs in nearly every aspect of our business. Across the company, we have already reduced planned capital expenditures and operating and partner expenditures. We have also suspended raises and implemented a schedule reduction for management and administrative employees, frozen hiring, introduced voluntary leave and separation programs, reduced pay for all executives and cut our CEO and President's base salaries by 100%, among other cost-saving measures."
The CEO goes on to state that the workforce will be reduced at all of its facilities at Denver International Airport and that the reductions may be temporary.
