UPS said it will furlough 54 pilots, effective Sunday, disappointing the pilots' union that had voluntarily cut costs to save jobs. This is the first pilot furlough in UPS history, the union said.
The furloughs result from less demand in the lucrative air express business as more affordable ground deliveries gained in popularity during the recession, UPS spokesman Norman Black said. The air fleet also is smaller and more modern, requiring only two pilots in the cockpit, as opposed to three, Black said.
In addition, 200 pilots who would have retired at age 60 have opted to stay until they are 65, based on new Federal Aviation Administration retirement rules, Black said.
As many as 300 pilots could be furloughed by 2011, Black said.
The Independent Pilots Association, which represents more than 2,800 UPS pilots, said UPS pulled a "bait and switch" when it asked for more cost-cutting measures after the pilots produced $117 million in voluntary savings.
“At a time when the No. 1 issue for most Americans is creating jobs, UPS is creating unemployment,” Capt. Robert Thrush, president of the Independent Pilots Association, said in a statement.
“What makes this furlough truly unfortunate is that our pilots took it upon themselves to give up pay and benefits to produce $117 million in guaranteed savings for UPS, enough to keep these 300 pilots employed well into 2011.”
UPS operates 214 aircraft and calls itself the world's ninth-largest airline. The Sandy Springs-based company has air hubs in Louisville, Ky., Anchorage, Alaska, and Miami. The bulk of the pilots being furloughed are based in Anchorage, a union spokesman said.
Black said as many as 170 pilots could be furloughed by the end of the year. The most-junior pilots will be furloughed first. Those slated to get furloughed this month have worked for UPS less than four years, Black said.
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