An airline employee walks past empty American Airlines check-in terminals at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 12, 2020.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | beautiful pictures
American Airlines is planning to hire 18,000 workers by 2022, along with thousands of new employees this year to cater to the tourism recovery, CEO Doug Parker is expected to tell lawmakers. Wednesday during a hearing on flight disruptions in recent months.
American CEOs, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines‘The CEO will face questions from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about mass flight cancellations and staffing struggles despite federal payroll aid. About $54 billion has been spent on the aviation industry in the state to cushion the impact of the pandemic.
American and Southwest canceled hundreds of short-lived flights this fall as they grapple with staffing shortages and bad weather. Both carriers have turned to incentives like extra pay or bonuses to avoid a repeat during the smooth Thanksgiving, as well as the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Airlines during the pandemic have urged thousands of workers to voluntarily buy back or quit to help cut their labor bills since the aid package banned them from laying off staff.
Now, they are scrambling to add workers as tourism demand returns, competition in a tight labor market has hit retailers, restaurants, hotels and industries. is different.
Parker said in written testimony before the hearing, American, which has about 130,000 employees, including its regional subsidiaries, has hired more than 16,000 people this year, such as pilots and flight attendants. , mechanics and reservation staff.
“We believe this positive momentum will continue into the coming year, as we have set a goal of recruiting 18,000 more team members by 2022,” Parker said in his testimony. “Every time we add to our ranking, it’s like a dividend for our team investment through [payroll support program]; instead of rebuilding after collapse, we are evolving to provide more promising careers with well-paid work to hard-working individuals who are the lifeblood of the economy. our country. “
Southwest says it plans to hire more 8,000 employees in 2022 after adding about 5,000 this year.
