United cuts 171 United Airlines has laid off nearly 10 percent of its Honolulu staff, letting 171 airport employees go out of a total local payroll of about 1,800.
jobs in Hawaii
More than 23,000 isle workers
have been let go or had their
hours cut since Sept. 11By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comTom Renville, Hawaii managing director for United, said yesterday he did not have exact details of the jobs being cut.
The cuts at United add to the more than 23,000 isle workers, many of whom are in the tourism industry, who have lost their jobs or had their hours greatly reduced since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Tourism fell sharply in the aftermath of the suicide hijackings, and many hotels and airlines, including Hawaiian and Aloha, have cut their payrolls.
United had said earlier it would face layoffs in Hawaii as a result of the tourism drop.
Officials at the airline's headquarters in Chicago filed a more detailed statement this week with the Hawaii Department of Labor & Industrial Relations, saying the number is now expected to be 171.
United said it was unable to provide that information earlier because of the complexities of staff matters such as voluntary furloughs, bumping rights and what the airline's future staffing needs might be in light of "these constantly changing business circumstances."
According to the latest data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, passenger arrivals in Hawaii in the past week have been running 22 percent to 25 percent below the equivalent time last year. Arrivals from U.S. airports so far this month have been down an average of about 8 percent compared with this time last year, but domestic arrivals dropped by as much as one-third since the Sept. 11 crashes, compared with the same days last year.
