American Airlines to warn 25,000 workers of potential furloughs

The memo, from CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom, said that the airline hopes to avoid some of those furloughs, which include around 10,000 flight attendants and 2,500 pilots.

“We hope to reduce the actual number of furloughs significantly through enhanced leave and early-out programs for represented workgroups, which we are announcing today,” the memo said.

On Wednesday, the two American Airlines executives also said the carrier supports a union-led effort to lobby Congress to extend the CARES Act relief money — which is set to expire at the end of September — through March 2021. They note the extended timeline is necessary due to the “much longer impact of the pandemic than was anticipated when the CARES Act was enacted.”