Washington
The ongoing U.S. travel crisis is causing thousands of job cuts as the aviation sector waits for passengers to return to the skies but braces for years of lower demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. airlines are slashing hundreds of thousands of flights, cutting schedules by 80% or more through at least June and parking thousands of jets as demand for tickets has plunged by about 95%. Airlines are requiring facial coverings and implementing new cleaning procedures to try to convince passengers it is safe to fly again, but also fear the weakened economy may further drag down demand.
Late Friday, Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N) said that in response to lower production rates from Boeing Co (BA.N) and Airbus SE (AIR.PA) it would layoff 1,450 workers in Kansas.
“This sudden drop in air travel has forced our customers to adjust to lower demand from airlines, many of which are seeking to defer or cancel airplane orders,” Spirit AeroSystems Chief Executive Tom Gentile told employees in an email seen by Reuters. “All indications right now tell us this lower demand for new commercial airplanes is likely to last for several years.”
On Wednesday, Boeing Co (BA.N) announced it would cut some production rates and eliminate about 16,000 jobs worldwide, or 10% of its workforce by year end.
Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said he expects it will “take two to three years for travel to return to 2019 levels and it will be a few years beyond that for the industry to return to long-term growth trends.”—Reuters
