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Air Canada is letting go of more than 1,500 workers and suspending 17 routes after the coronavirus restrictions reduced travel demand.
This now makes half of Air Canada’s workforce let go since the beginning of the pandemic, according to CBC. These new cuts are in response to a new quarantine mandated by the government on arriving passengers in addition to the continued suspension of flights to winter-time hot spots like Mexico.
Top Class Actions help right consumer wrongs by reporting on companies laying off workers amid the pandemic. We’ll follow the story and report its notable developments.
Air Canada representatives told reporters that the cuts were temporary and the number of management positions included in the cuts were unclear. Union officials said that at least 900 cuts will be made from its ranks.
“We appreciate the need for measures to prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19 in Canada,” a union representative told CBC News. “But restrictions have to be accompanied by solutions.”
Indeed, just earlier this month, Air Canada suspended its Rouge flights, laying off another 80 people, at the request of the Canadian government. Experts told CBC News that Air Canada, as well as the airline industry as a whole, cannot handle many more of these blows.
“The situation is dire,” Calgary-based independent airline analyst Rick Erickson told CBC News. “The air carriers have had no choice but to continue to make cuts.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an enormous toll on Canada’s commercial airlines. Passenger levels are reportedly down nearly 90% due to travel restrictions and fear of contracting the disease, with similar job cuts and route reductions being made by other Canadian airlines.
Travellers Hit Air Canada With Class Action Lawsuits
The industry has faced pressure from consumers as well. Air Canada has faced a number of class action lawsuits demanding refunds for flights cancelled by pandemic restrictions. Consumers claimed that the airline provided vouchers for flights cancelled in the spring, instead of cash refunds.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau reportedly addressed the crisis in the airline industry, noting that, while the airlines had been hit hard, so had the rest of Canada and that additional aid should be tied to customer refunds.
“When this unprecedented pandemic broke out in the spring, Canadians who had already booked travel ended up stuck with vouchers for trips they could not take instead of getting refunds,” noted Garneau in a statement. “They found themselves in a situation where they have given thousands of dollars in interest-free loans to airlines.”
Have you been affected by Air Canada’s job cuts or changes in service? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
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