American Airlines said Wednesday 13,000 employees were at risk of being furloughed.A slow vaccine rollout and restrictions on international travel have dampened demand, American said.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American furloughed 19,000 workers when a previous round of government payroll support ended on October 1 but recalled them in December after a fresh $15 billion for the industry through March. Aviation unions are already pushing for another $15 billion in US payroll assistance to protect jobs through the summer.
"The vaccine is not being distributed as quickly as any of us believed, and new restrictions on international travel that require customers to have a negative COVID-19 test have dampened demand," American said, adding that the company would not fly all of its aircraft this summer as planned. has sent fresh furlough warnings to 14,000 employees, while Delta Air Lines Inc and Southwest Airlines Co have averted layoffs mostly thanks to voluntary leave programs.