American to lay off 415 employees in January FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) =97 American Airlines, looking to cut costs=20 aggressively, notified state officials that it plans to lay off 415 workers= =20 in mid-January. The layoffs will cover 218 fleet-service clerks and 197=20 airport agents and representatives at Dallas-Fort Worth International=20 Airport, the airline said in a notice to the Texas Workforce Commission.=20 The notice, filed in early December, was obtained Tuesday by the Associated= =20 Press. The layoffs of 415 clerks and agents would take effect Jan. 18, the= =20 airline told the commission. It cited "severe economic conditions" in the=20 airline industry. "Although we have made some progress and continue to look= =20 for ways in which to manage through this crisis, we, like the rest of the=20 industry, are a long way from turning the corner to financial health and=20 stability," the company said in a letter to commission chairwoman Diane= Rath. American officials didn't immediately return calls Tuesday. Fort=20 Worth-based American, the world's largest carrier, has about 112,000=20 employees but needs fewer of them because it has been cutting flights to=20 save money. The airline said in November that it would cut North American capacity=20 another 3.3% by next March, leaving it with 18.6% less passenger capacity=20 than in March 2001, before the terrorism attacks and the full effect of the= =20 weak economy were felt. Chairman Donald J. Carty has said the company is about halfway to its goal= =20 of cutting $4 billion from annual costs. It has mothballed planes, canceled= =20 orders for new jets and tried to impose new fees on travelers. In August,=20 the company announced 7,000 layoffs. In December, it also asked employees=20 to give up pay raises they are due in 2003, which would save $130 million. Union leaders said they wanted to inspect the company's financial records=20 before members voted on the pay freeze, and they predicted the airline=20 would soon seek larger concessions. American's parent company, AMR Corp.=20 (AMR), lost nearly $3 billion in the first nine months of 2002. The major=20 U.S. airlines were expected to lose about $9 billion during the year. They= =20 have struggled to cope with a cutback in business travel and competition=20 from low-fare carriers and cheaper Internet fares. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************