Air Transat says it will lay off 350 to 400 flight attendants as of 01NOV.
“The layoffs are temporary due to the seasonality of our airline operations and a capacity reduction announced earlier this year,” airline spokesperson Maïté Aubert-Simard told Open Jaw on 21OCT. “This measure is in accordance with the collective agreement and is common in the industry, which Air Transat has used several times in the past.”
Aubert-Simard noted that the company offered employees unpaid leave, shortened hours and other options before imposing layoffs.
"We plan to recall staff in due course as soon as our flight schedule allows," she said.
Earlier this month, Transat filed notice with the Quebec government that it planned to lay off 80 workers. Officials at the time said that would represent only 1% of the company's workforce, and that layoffs might not happen at all. They also said layoffs would not affect flight attendants or pilots.
A layoff of 400 FA's would mean nearly a 20% reduction, Montreal newspaper La Presse stated.
Although Transat has laid off employees at the start of the winter season in the past, a union rep told La Presse there were more layoffs than usual this year.
The news comes after Transat reported small third-quarter losses of almost $40 million in the third quarter of this year. The company said it was launching "a complete review of operations and business practices."
