United to eliminate 1,250 jobs By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY United Airlines plans to slash 1,250 jobs and turn more service over to=20 commuter affiliates, the latest in a series of cuts as the nation's=20 second-largest airline seeks billions of dollars in union concessions and=20 federal aid to ward off bankruptcy protection. United announced an $889=20 million third-quarter loss, its second biggest ever, on Friday. The latest= =20 cutbacks, which will save an estimated $100 million annually, include: =B7 Flights. United passengers will lose main-line service in White=20 Plains and Syracuse, N.Y.; Eugene and Medford, Ore.; and Cedar Rapids,=20 Iowa. Commuter affiliates take over the flights starting Jan. 7. =B7 Reservations. Three reservations centers will be closed, leaving= =20 nine to serve customers around the country. The centers and job losses in=20 each are: San Francisco, 516; Long Beach, 96; and Indianapolis, 74.=20 Reservations center call volume has fallen 25% since a year ago. =B7 Maintenance. One of three Boeing 757 maintenance lines is being=20 closed in Indianapolis, resulting in the furlough of 250 mechanics. The=20 airline also is idling 160 maintenance positions around the country. The changes, announced Monday, are among the "painful cuts" that will lower= =20 costs, but still do "not provide the labor-cost savings we need for our=20 recovery plan to succeed," says United CEO Glenn Tilton. "It's not the=20 final step," aviation consultant Morris Garfinkle said of the cuts. "They=20 are just getting the skin off the fruit. They have to get down to the=20 seeds." The cutbacks strike hardest against members of the International=20 Association of Machinists. United officials met through the weekend with=20 IAM leaders in hopes of reaching concession agreements. "United is=20 undertaking restructuring efforts that are painful, and we're going to=20 continue to represent our members, whether they are on the job or on the=20 street," says machinists' union spokesman Frank Larkin. As it negotiates with its unions, United this week plans to update a=20 business plan filed along with its application for a $1.8 billion federal=20 bailout loan. But Wall Street remains concerned that United won't be able=20 to cut deep enough to keep from having to file for bankruptcy=20 reorganization. "Relative to United's multibillion-dollar losses,=20 (Monday's) cost reductions are comparatively modest," says analyst Sam=20 Buttrick of UBS Warburg. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (I95.5FM) http://www.i955fm.com (Radio Station I95.5FM) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************