By Jorge Antonio Vázquez Buendía
01 Feb 2024, 12:22 PM EST
American Airlines is joining the companies that have seen the need to cut employees in 2024. The airline will lay off 656 employees in an effort to reorganize and improve its customer service team.
“Today we are announcing updates to our contact center organization that will help us better serve our customers. As part of these updates, we are creating a new Customer Success team that will be dedicated to providing more convenient and elevated support to American Airlines customers with some of their most complex travel needs,” the airline told USA Today.
“Unfortunately, this means that some current positions will be eliminated. “We are working closely with affected team members to support them during this transition, including providing them with exclusive access to American Airlines job openings, outplacement services and severance.”
According to the information, the airline will eliminate 8.2% of its 8,000 positions related to customer service, which affects 656 employees who are not represented by a union.
335 people who will lose their jobs are from Phoenix and 321 from Dallas-Fort Worth. Workers currently help passengers with their lost luggage and service groups with the AAdvantage loyalty program.
Affected employees will work until March 30 and will have the opportunity to apply for one of 135 positions on the new Customer Success team, or one of the company’s other 800 open positions, with the remainder receiving severance pay.
The dismissal occurs a few days after the company ratified a new agreement with members of the Customer Service team.
On January 8, American Airlines announced that the nearly 15,000 Customer Service team members across all airports, Premium Guest Services and Reservations, represented by CWA-IBT, ratified a new five-year agreement with the company. The new contract includes significant improvements in pay, benefits and quality of life provisions important to American’s team.
“We are pleased to reach a new agreement with CWA-IBT that ensures our customer service team members are paid well and provides the improvements that matter most to our team,” said American CEO Robert Isom. .
“I am grateful for both the company and the CWA-IBT trading teams who delivered on this shared commitment to take care of our team. Our Customer Service team members go above and beyond to take care of our customers every day and this is a contract they have earned,” Isom added.
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