United gives employees longer to decide on voluntary furloughs

United Wednesday extended a deadline for most employees to decide whether to take voluntary furlough deals to Aug. 10, as it waits to see if the US Congress extends an airline bailout in the first week of August. United announced the extension in a memo to employees seen by Reuters, adding that it was working with unions, which are lobbying US lawmakers for an extension of the bailout that would prevent voluntary furloughs and delay impact on employees until early 2021. United confirmed the memo and declined to comment further. Most employees had previously faced a Thursday deadline to decide whether to apply to leave. “While nothing is certain, our union partners have built a strong campaign to advocate for an extension” of the payroll assistance program, the memo said. “We have worked closely with them to support those efforts.” But the letter added that United is “not counting on Congress passing an extension.” United said last week more than 6,000 employees had opted for exit packages. But after sending 36,000 notices of potential furloughs this month, that relatively low take-up suggests United might have to furlough a significant number of workers.<br/>