$54 billion. 28,000 fewer jobs. Lawmakers want airline CEOs to explain what happened to stimulus aid
Airlines took in $54 billion in grants during the pandemic but are now blaming staffing issues on widespread cancellations and delays.
Kyle Arnold | THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Lawmakers are calling on the leaders of American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others to explain why they are experiencing labor shortages after getting more than $54 billion in federal stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent job losses.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby are slated to testify Dec. 15 at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.
Parker, Kelly and others lobbied hard in Washington in 2020 and early this year to secure billions in aid to airlines under the premise that air travel workers would be needed to respond when demand did return.
Parker and Kelly have both announced that they are retiring as CEOs from their airlines early next year.
Despite all that cash, U.S. airlines employed 28,000 fewer workers in October than during the same month in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced cost-cutting.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines has 10,000 fewer workers than it did two years ago, and Dallas-based Southwest has reduced its workforce by 5,000, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
While airlines kept workers on the books through the over $50 billion in aid, including $7.3 billion for Southwest, they also encouraged thousands of workers to take early retirement and voluntary separation packages to trim expenses.
Now that the airlines are recovering and flight levels are back, lawmakers are concerned that all that money didn’t do what it was expected to do. [READ FULL ARTICLE...]
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