US Treasury urges Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs as deadline looms
The US Treasury said on Tuesday it had closed loans to seven large airlines hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and urged Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs by extending billions in payroll assistance. The Treasury said the seven carriers were Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp, Hawaiian Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and United Airlines. Airlines and unions were still heavily lobbying Congress ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a new US$25b bailout to keep workers on the payroll for another six months, but industry officials acknowledge they face an uphill battle with just hours left. US airlines received US$25b in March under the Cares Act, primarily in the form of grants to keep employees on payroll through September and avoid furloughs. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress on Tuesday to extend the payroll assistance programme "so we can continue to support aviation industry workers as our economy reopens and we continue on the path to recovery." Last week, Mr Mnuchin ruled out executive action to avert airline layoffs. House of Representatives Democrats have backed a US$2.2t measure that would provide assistance to many hard-hit sectors as well as direct relief for Americans. They have been reluctant to support a stand-alone measure that would only aid airline workers. Nick Calio, who heads the airline trade group Airlines for America, said Tuesday that carriers "remain hopeful that Congress will act quickly to save these jobs before the Sept 30 deadline - which is tomorrow - but time is running out."<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-09-30/general/us-treasury-urges-congress-to-save-tens-of-thousands-of-airline-jobs-as-deadline-looms
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US Treasury urges Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs as deadline looms
The US Treasury said on Tuesday it had closed loans to seven large airlines hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and urged Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs by extending billions in payroll assistance. The Treasury said the seven carriers were Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp, Hawaiian Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and United Airlines. Airlines and unions were still heavily lobbying Congress ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a new US$25b bailout to keep workers on the payroll for another six months, but industry officials acknowledge they face an uphill battle with just hours left. US airlines received US$25b in March under the Cares Act, primarily in the form of grants to keep employees on payroll through September and avoid furloughs. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress on Tuesday to extend the payroll assistance programme "so we can continue to support aviation industry workers as our economy reopens and we continue on the path to recovery." Last week, Mr Mnuchin ruled out executive action to avert airline layoffs. House of Representatives Democrats have backed a US$2.2t measure that would provide assistance to many hard-hit sectors as well as direct relief for Americans. They have been reluctant to support a stand-alone measure that would only aid airline workers. Nick Calio, who heads the airline trade group Airlines for America, said Tuesday that carriers "remain hopeful that Congress will act quickly to save these jobs before the Sept 30 deadline - which is tomorrow - but time is running out."<br/>
