The impact of the airline industry slump brought on by the COVID pandemic is again hitting close to home. Last month Air Canada suspended its service to Saint John. A union official at the Air Canada Contact Centre in Millidgeville tells newsysj.ca 98 full time workers have been laid off since last month. That is on top of 11 full time workers laid off last year as the bottom fell out of the travel market.
The spokesperson says the centre originally employed 400 people – but – that number is down to just above 200 due to layoffs and attrition. We are told the union members on layoff do have negotiated recall rights for up to five years.
The layoffs come as Air Canada announced its biggest annual loss in nearly two decades – 4.6 billion dollars for 2020. That compares to a 1.4 billion dollar profit for 2019. Talks between the airline industry and the federal government continue about a potential bailout package for the airline industry.
newsysj.ca reached out to Air Canada about the layoffs and received a response indicating they did not have a regional breakdown on staffing level changes to provide at this time.
