You have been sent this message from psa188@juno.com as a courtesy of the Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43414-2002Nov26.html US Airways Reveals Plan To Drop 2,500 More Workers By Keith L. Alexander US Airways plans to furlough 2,500 employees, or about 7 percent of its workforce, during the next three months, the company said yesterday. The Arlington-based airline, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said it needs to cut $1.6 billion a year in costs -- about $400 million more than it estimated earlier -- to offset disappointing revenue. The airline said it expects to furlough about 800 flight attendants; 700 to 800 ticket-counter agents, gate agents and baggage handlers; 500 mechanics; 331 reservation agents; and about 60 pilots. An unspecified number of management employees have also been furloughed. Laid-off employees could be recalled if US Airways decides to fill the jobs later. In the Washington area, reductions include 27 full-time and six part-time ticket-counter agents, gate agents and baggage handlers at Reagan National Airport; 14 part-time workers at Dulles International Airport; and one part-time and 12 full-time employees at Baltimore-Washington International. The airline did not say how many flight attendants, pilots or mechanics would be furloughed in the Washington area. US Airways will close its heavy maintenance hangar in Tampa and a reservations call center in Orlando. Senior employees will be offered transfers to Pittsburgh, Charlotte or Winston-Salem, N.C. Since last year's terrorist attacks, US Airways has eliminated more than 16,000 jobs. To help the airline secure a $900 million federal loan guarantee and reorganize under bankruptcy protection, unions representing airline employees agreed to more than $850 million in pay cuts annually over 61/2 years. In exchange for those concessions, US Airways said it would not nullify union contracts while it reorganized. US Airways officials said those agreements did not preclude more job cuts. The airline also is asking unions for work-rule changes to boost productivity, saying they are necessary to avoid further reductions in its fleet of 279 planes. Those work-rule changes would allow the airline to operate with fewer workers, and possibly lead to further job reductions next year, spokesman David Castelveter said. "The good news is that changing some of these rules will make us much more competitive, without the need to further reduce pay rates," said David N. Siegel, US Airways president and chief executive. "We are clearly focused on saving as many jobs as possible, and on preserving competitive pension and benefits compensation, but we can only do that if we have a viable business." Roy Freundlich, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said: "We're very disappointed that management continues to find new ways to lay off more people, and it's another indication that this restructuring is mostly designed to reside on the backs of employees. These are clear signs that management is basically failing to deliver on every promise and commitment they made to us every step of the way." US Airways said it intends to file its reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court next month and emerge from Chapter 11 by March.