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Bloomberg
American Airlines Group Inc. will begin recalling furloughed employees as soon as US lawmakers approve a relief package with payroll funds for airlines, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said.
The first paychecks were issued to workers who had been sent home, Parker and American’s president, Robert Isom, said in a memo to employees. Pay and benefits would be retroactive to December 1.
Congress reached a deal last week on a $900 billion package to help people and businesses damaged financially by the coronavirus pandemic. The relief measures include about $15 billion for US airline employees, including those placed on furlough when an earlier round of aid was expired on September 30.
With demand for air travel continuing to languish amid the coronavirus pandemic, the new funds would cover airlines’ payroll costs for the first quarter of 2021.
“We’ve fought shoulder to shoulder with our labor partners since the summer to get to this point,†Parker and Isom wrote. They asked employees to contact Congressional representatives to ensure that the bill becomes law.
The recalls will be ordered according to work groups, the company’s staffing needs and seniority, a spokesman for American said.