
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 1, 1993                   TAG: 9310010215
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

USAIR TO IDLE 2,500

USAir will lay off 2,500 workers, or more than 5 percent of its work force, because of expected losses this year including a $180 million pretax loss in the third quarter, the airline said Thursday.

The layoffs, to begin in November and stretch through the first half of next year, are part of a broader cost-cutting effort, airline officials said.

The Roanoke Valley is not expected to be hit by the work-force cuts, nearly half of which will be USAir customer service workers at hub cities, including Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, spokeswoman Andrea Butler said.

"It doesn't look like Virginia in general is much affected," she said.

USAir and its affiliated USAir Express carriers last month handled 59 percent of the passenger traffic at Roanoke Regional Airport.

The airline, which employs 46,000, has had net losses of nearly $2 billion since 1990, including $55 million in the first half of this year.

Seth E. Schofield, chairman of USAir Group Inc., said 1993 revenues during the peak summer travel season fell short of expectations and the company expects both operating and net losses for the year.

"In the face of these projected losses, USAir is taking immediate steps to lower projected 1994 operating costs by approximately $200 million," Schofield said.

In addition to 1,200 customer service employees who will be laid off, the 2,500 reduction includes: 600 more customer service workers who have accepted an early-retirement offer; 200 flight attendants and 200 mechanics who will be laid off; 100 pilots expected to retire in 1994. Butler said the rest of the job cuts will be among management and clerical employees.

Schofield said travelers want lower prices and USAir has been harmed by low-fare competition.

"For USAir to remain competitive in the new realities of the marketplace, we must reduce costs and find ways to restructure our organization to make it more efficient," he said in a statement.

Staff writer Lon Wagner contributed to this story.

by CNB