American Airlines CEO tells employees to brace for furlough warnings

American Airlines workers should brace for another round of furlough warnings as the airline expects to remain overstaffed on April 1, when US aid for industry workers expires, CE Doug Parker said. American is among US airlines that received money from a US$15 billion payroll support package in December to protect workers' jobs and salaries through March, when the industry had hoped that pandemic-hit demand would have recovered with vaccine rollouts. "What hasn't happen is what we'd hoped would happen, that we'd get to April 1 and say oh my god ... everybody we have we're going to need them in the July schedule," Parker said during a Jan. 28 employee town hall meeting. US aviation unions are urging Congress to extend a third round of payroll assistance, something Parker said he would support. "That's a much better solution than having people furloughed again when we know that this (COVID-19) is months away from being eradicated," he said during the town hall. "I hate that we're in that position but we are and we can't ignore it so we have to start figuring out what to do about it," he said.<br/>