According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, Delta and American Airlines are planning to reduce flights on several domestic and international routes due to drastic decreases in customer demand. The airlines’ most recent cuts could mean more job losses for the already beleaguered airline industry.
The article said:
“Customer demand for international travel has fallen significantly,” Bastian and Delta chief executive officer Richard Anderson told employees in a memo Thursday. “Accordingly, we plan to reduce our international capacity by an additional 5 percent from what we announced in March, for a 15 percent total reduction in international capacity.”
American Airlines also plans to reduce its capacity by 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent for international and domestic routes respectively. Both companies admitted that the reductions will most likely force them to implement job losses. More job losses for this economy, especially on a mass scale would be serious trouble for the already saturated job market. Automaker job losses have already dumped thousands of workers onto the job market whose skills are not easily transferable to other industries. More job losses from the airline industry would simply be a repeat of that scenario.
As we have emphasized in previous blogs, workers must be prepared (as much as possible) for possible job losses. If you’re in an industry that is contracting and you have lots of debt and very little savings, now may be the time to begin assessing your financial situation. How long can you remain unemployed with no income and still pay your bills? Right now, many unemployed workers are exhausting all of their unemployment insurance benefits without finding new jobs with comparable salaries. Would you be able to pay your medical bills , including your mortgage with a significantly reduced salary? Once again if you are facing a possible job loss take a honest look at your financial situation. If you find that you’re over your head in debt now may be the time to consider all of your options, including bankruptcy. To find out more about how bankruptcy can help you protect your assets in case of a job loss or other crisis, contact a Dallas-Fort Worth bankruptcy attorney today.