United Cuts 950 Pilot Jobs

United Airlines is planning to cut about 950 pilot positions, or about 12 percent, during the next 18 months as it grounds about 100 aircraft.

United already has announced plans to cut about 1,500 white-collar jobs as it tries to slash its U.S. flight capacity about 14 percent by the end of the year amid record fuel costs.

United said it is reducing its fleet by about 22 percent, mostly by eliminating its less fuel efficient Boeing 737s.

First reported by the Chicago Tribune, pilots were notified Monday that the first furlough notices are likely to go out in September, according to a memo. The airline likely will send notices to about 1,450 pilots in order to cut the number of active pilots by 950 because of the number of pilots on leave for military and other commitments.

However, the pilots’ union is trying negotiating with United management in an effort to reduce the number of furloughs.

Filed by John Pletz of Crain’s Chicago Business, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.