ASSOCIATED PRESS / NOVEMBER 2002
United Airlines, struggling to emerge from bankruptcy, is cutting cabin service workers in Honolulu.
United to lay off
53 in HonoluluThe layoffs will begin Oct. 31
United Airlines, which cut labor expenses 30 percent in the second quarter and is aiming to emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy, will lay off 53 cabin service employees based at Honolulu Airport starting Oct. 31.
All workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union. United, the world's second-largest airline and a major carrier to Hawaii, could not say whether the cuts will be permanent.
"As part of the transformation process we have reached new agreements with our unions that include significant changes in how United will operate," the company said in a letter filed yesterday with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. "We must implement the changes as quickly as possible in order to achieve the necessary cost savings."
United parent UAL Corp. recently said its net loss nearly doubled to $623 million in the second quarter because of reorganization costs from rejecting some aircraft.
Labor costs fell because of wage reductions, changes in benefits and changes in union work rules, the Illinois-based company said.
