By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) will cut 19,000 jobs in October, bringing the total to about 40,000 people who are leaving the company.
Shares dropped almost 4% on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) fell 1% and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) was down 4%.
The cuts amount to a 28% reduction from American's March employment level of 140,000, Forbes said.
The 19,000 positions will be involuntary furloughs or separations on Oct. 1, the day after the expiration of emergency funding under the CARES Act, though there is still hope that Congress will extend the payroll support program, which is backed by both parties.
In addition to the 19,000 involuntary layoffs on Oct. 1, about 12,500 employees have retired or accepted early exit programs, the carrier said, while another 11,000 have offered to take leaves of absence in October.
“Based on current demand levels, we at American now plan to fly less than 50% of our airline in the fourth quarter, with long-haul international particularly reduced to only 25% of 2019 levels,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker wrote in a letter to employees on Tuesday. The cuts are deeper for crews involved in international service due to disproportionate declines in international flying.