Air Wisconsin is planning to reduce its workforce when it cuts ties with American Airlines later this year. The regional carrier sent WARN Notices to workers on Thursday.
As part of a so-called “strategic shift,” Air Wisconsin will stop flying its CRJ-200s under the American Eagle brand in April. Instead, the carrier is hoping to pivot to charter and government-subsidized operations.
Roughly 513 employees may face layoffs, the airline said in the notice. This figure includes 219 management employees and 294 that are union-represented.
These layoffs are scheduled to take effect around March 31, just before the airline ends its American contract on April 3. Pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers, and mechanics, among other workgroups, are slated to be affected by these cuts.
Unionized workers will be temporarily laid off, the airline said, while management and non-union cuts will be permanent.
“Since that announcement, the Company has been working to develop alternative flying opportunities, which it expects to announce in the coming weeks. It is likely that the Company’s strategy will involve some level of company-wide workforce reductions …,” Air Wisconsin’s head of human resources said in a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
The carrier has already applied to serve a handful of Essential Air Service markets in the Midwest. These proposals are currently pending approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
