American Airlines Fleet service workers load baggage onto a belt.
Top executives of the ten largest passenger and cargo airlines say they will not furlough or lay off any workers before Sept. 1 if Congress moves quickly to bail out airlines from the coronavirus crisis.
In a letter Saturday, the executives wrote, “If worker payroll protection grants are enacted, equaling at least $29 billion, participating passenger and cargo air carriers will not furlough employees or conduct reductions in force through August 31, 2020.”
Additionally, the executives wrote, if loan guarantees equaling at least $29 billion are enacted, they will place limits on executive compensation and eliminate both stock buybacks and stock dividends for the life of the loans.”
The industry is seeking a bailout package of $58 billion in total. Saturday was the first time it offered no layoffs or furloughs until Sept. 1 in exchange.
However, the letter, written under the letterhead of Airlines for America, the industry lobbying group, warned, “Time is running out.
“Unless worker payroll protection grants are passed immediately, many of us will be forced to take draconian measures such as furloughs,” the letter threatened.
“The worker payroll protection grants are critical to saving the jobs of our employees,” the letter said. “Over the past week we have communicated to our employees the dire situation we are in and the potential impacts on them if our government doesn’t step up to help.”
The signees asked that Congress “move expeditiously to pass a bipartisan proposal that includes a combination of worker payroll protection grants, loans and loan guarantees and tax measures.”
The letter was signed by top officers of passenger carriers Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines; of cargo airlines Atlas Air, FedEx Express and UPS Airlines and A4A CEO Nicholas Calio.
