Not Enough Have Taken Early Retirement, Carrier Says

American Airlines will make good on earlier threats of more layoffs. The flight attendants union for the Fort Worth, TX-based airline confirmed this week 323 FAs will be handed their walking papers after April 1, after fewer workers than expected opted to voluntarily leave their jobs.

Bloomberg reports the Association of Professional Flight Attendants broke the news to its members in a message posted Wednesday on its website. "Our heart goes out to our members who will soon be without income, active coverage for health benefits and the career they love," APFA President Laura Glading wrote.

To date, American has shed roughly 6,800 jobs since July 2008, in line with deep cuts in capacity. Initially, many workers accepted offers to leave the airline voluntarily, in exchange for severance packages and a chance to start over in another field... but as the economy has tanked, more senior employees are holding onto their jobs for fear the grass is even drier on the other side of the fence.

As ANN reported, American announced in late February it would need to shed as many as 410 junior flight attendant positions in April. FAs with at least five years of seniority may opt to accept extended travel benefits... in exchange for giving up any chance of being recalled.

"We recognize this is a challenging time, a difficult decision the company has to make, and this is just one option to help with that transition," said American spokeswoman Missy Latham.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.apfa.org