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WestJet to furlough 700 pilots this month

Friday, April 17, 2020

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Canadian Airline WestJet has decided to lay-off 700 of its pilots in the midst of the struggle it is facing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lay-off would be carried out across WestJet, WestJet Encore, and Swoop. All of the 700 pilots would be furloughed by the end of this month.

 

 

The decision comes due to the sharp drop in passenger travel demand that requires the carrier to reduce its workforce to match the operational capacity. On Thursday, the company informed the entire workforce about their decision through an official email confirmation. The airline informed that 700 pilots would lose their jobs as of May 1. The process would be executed according to the seniority of the pilots. It would also mean that pilots who have recently joined the company and have the least tenure will be some of the earliest crew to be furloughed.

 

 

In addition, WestJet might carry out a second round of lay-off from June 1, where an additional 1000 pilots would be furloughed. Each pilot who makes the cut through the present phase is likely to be found in May’s batch redundancy.

 

 

Under the furlough plan, pilots will be able to claim a form of salary via the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). According to this scheme, pilots can receive 75% of their hourly rate while being inactive.

 

 

WestJet said in a recent press statement that issuing layoffs as a response to the COVID-19 crisis was the last resort for the airline. He mentioned that coronavirus had a colossal effect on the aviation industry and WestJet is making difficult but necessary decisions to weather the crises and right-size the company.

 

It was back during March 24 that WestJet served 6,900 notices of voluntary and involuntary leave to its employees. Out of them, around 2,280 employees were cabin crew. The 700 pilots will join these members of staff at the end of the month on the CEWS financial program.

 

 

 

 

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