American Airlines to lay off 656 employees
American Airlines announced the layoff of hundreds of employees earlier this week as the airline seeks to reorganize and improve its customer service team.
USA TODAY reports the carrier has plans to create a new customer service team that will be dedicated to “providing more convenient, elevated support” to customers and their travel needs.
“Unfortunately, this means some current positions will be eliminated,” American Airlines told USA TODAY in a statement. “We’re working closely with impacted team members to support them through this transition including providing exclusive access to job openings throughout American Airlines, outplacement services and severance.”
Currently, passengers traveling on American Airlines have to reach out to separate customer service teams for different issues, but the airline says the new structure will consolidate that assistance into one team, according to USA TODAY.
According to Bloomberg, the layoffs will eliminate 8.2% of its 8,000 customer service-related positions for a total of 656 employees, who are not represented by a union.