Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 11, 1991 TAG: 9102110350
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The airline, hit by multimillion-dollar losses last year, said it would furlough 660 pilots, 540 flight attendants, 505 maintenance and utility employees, 1,300 customer service agents, 305 reservations agents and 275 managers and staff.
The specific cities where employees are to be furloughed will not be available for several months, the airline said.
Seth Schofield, USAir's president and chief operating officer, told employees in a series of meetings that the cutbacks were made necessary by the recession.
"USAir is being restructured to survive and be in a position to rebuild for the future," he said.
The airline said it would close flight crew bases in Miami; Greensboro, N.C.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and San Diego. A maintenance facility at Utica, N.Y., and a reservation office at Reston, Va., also will be closed.
The number of USAir daily flight departures will be reduced from 2,894 to 2,626 on May 2 as the airline cuts back unprofitable flights, USAir management said.
The airline said the restructuring will include expansion of service at its hubs in Pittsburgh, Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh daily flight departures will increase from 290 to 301. At Charlotte, daily departures will rise from 321 to 337. Daily departures from Philadelphia will increase from 141 to 160.
In January, USAir reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 1990 of $221 million, including the $46 million cost of laying off or relocating workers and $44 million for other restructuring.
Last month the airline announced a number of cost-cutting measures, including delays in delivery of new aircraft, and suspension of the USAir quarterly stock dividend.
The airline laid off 3,600 workers last summer.
by CNB