Air Canada Laying Off 20,000 As Of June 7

As Canadians prepared for the annual May 24 long weekend, media across the country began reporting the details of an Air Canada internal memo that indicates the carrier will be laying off 20,000 of its workers as the impact of COVID-19 cuts deep into its business.

All of the company’s staff were advised in an internal memo of the layoffs which are effective June 7 and come following what the airline describes as a “fundamental review” of its business and the steps it has to take in order to emerge from the pandemic crisis and rebuild the airline.

The numbers detailed in the memo are staggering, with Air Canada indicating that right now it is only operating 5% of the capacity that it operated in 2019 and that could increase to 25% by year’s end, but that depends on whether or not government restrictions on travel are loosened.

In a video released earlier this month, Air Canada boss, Calin Rovinescu spoke to Air Canada employees about the impact that COVID-19 was having on the airline’s business.

Check it out