star

The CE of United told the company’s employees this week that the carrier — and other businesses — could make the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for all workers. “The worst thing that I believe I will ever do in my career is the letters that I have written to the surviving family members of co-workers that we have lost to the coronavirus,” the executive, Scott Kirby told employees at a virtual town hall on Thursday, according to a transcript of the remarks. “And so, for me, because I have confidence in the safety of the vaccine — and I recognize it’s controversial — I think the right thing to do is for United Airlines, and for other companies, to require the vaccines and to make them mandatory.” Some states, such as New York, have already made the vaccine available to flight attendants, pilots and other airline and airport employees. United has encouraged employees to get the vaccine as soon as they can. Kirby’s comments do not reflect actual corporate policy. The airline would need to overcome logistical hurdles before requiring its tens of thousands of employees to get vaccinated and would need other businesses to join it in requiring vaccination, he said.<br/>

United has offered employees fresh deals with pay and health benefits to leave the company, according to a memo seen by Reuters, part of a drive to reduce headcount and cut costs as it awaits a rebound in pandemic-hit travel demand. United said on Wednesday that it planned to offer voluntary leave options for employees as part of an effort to cut about $2b of annual costs through 2023, but did not provide details. Asked about the offering, a United spokeswoman said: “Given the continued, near-term variations in travel demand, we’ll look for new ways to give our employees flexibility by introducing voluntary options that help reduce costs and may reduce the number of furloughs of recalled employees.” United offered a series of voluntary exit packages for frontline employees last year but they did not include pay.<br/>