American Airlines has realised that it overhired during the post-pandemic demand surge, and is now trying to correct the situation by implementing job cuts across departments and teams. While official confirmation is not available, there are media reports that talk of shifting some jobs to India, with Hyderabad slated to be a new centre of operations.
The restructuring plan and cost-cutting efforts will see about 5,000 jobs go and many being offshored.
Media reports indicate that employees at management level as well as technical and customer-support staff will be impacted when the workforce is trimmed by at least four to five per cent.
The maximum impact is expected to be felt in the administrative and information technology teams.
It is reported that American Airlines is endeavouring to move from a cost-cutting model to a “premium” full-service airline, in competition with Delta Air and United Airlines. The objective of the cuts is to ensure better and faster decision-making, eliminate redundancies, and improve performance.
Employees at major airports including Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) and corporate offices will be impacted.
It is believed that the employees were taken by surprise when the news of cuts was delivered. Most were laid off online without any warning, while others are anxious and unsure about the future.
Will the airline be able to continue services smoothly and consistently? How will the airline tackle the workload with the existing staff? These are some of the questions that remain unanswered.