Air Canada will temporarily lay off nearly half of its workforce in a desperate attempt to cut costs.
It will lead to the standing down of 15,200 employees and more than 1,000 managers starting from April 3, the airline said.
Last week it already announced the furloughing of more than 5,000 flight attendants.
“The unpredictable extent and duration of the covid-19 pandemic requires a significant overall response,” Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu said.
“To furlough such a large proportion of our employees is an extremely painful decision but one we are required to take given our dramatically smaller operations for the next while.”
Rovinescu is waiving his salary.
The covid-19 cost reduction program hopes to save about $500 million.
