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Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
by JOHN CARNEY
\nbreitbart.com<\/p>\n
American Airlines said it will begin furloughing 19,000 workers after lawmakers and the White House can\u2019t agree on a coronavirus relief deal.<\/h3>\n
The major airlines have held off on layoffs and mass furloughs under the terms of a $25 billion payroll support program Congress passed in March. The deal was aimed at helping the airlines cope with shutdowns, quarantines, and a crash in bookings, but at the time it was passed, lawmakers believed demand for air travel would recover in a few months.<\/p>\n
The March legislation\u2019s ban on cutting jobs expires October 1. Demand for air travel has recovered a bit since the depths of March and April, but passenger volume remains 70 percent below pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
Airline executives say they simply cannot avoid eliminating jobs and furloughing employees without a new round of relief from Congress.<\/p>\n
American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker said in a letter to employees that he stood ready to reverse the furloughs if lawmakers reach a deal, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Fox News on Thursday that talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made progress, but no deal has been reached. Democrats have resisted reaching a deal with Republicans, with some Democratic politicians and strategists worried that any deal to boost the economy might help Trump\u2019s re-election efforts. Some liberal activists oppose any deals with the Trump administration under any circumstances.<\/p>\n
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called a proposed $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief\u00a0 package from the Democrats \u201coutlandish.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Trump has told Capitol Hill Republicans that he would prefer a bill that spent more than the earlier Republican proposal that was rejected by Democrats to no deal at all.<\/p>\n
Airlines spent the last several months furiously lobbying lawmakers for a second round of $25 billion of payroll support that would avoid job cuts until the end of March.<\/p>\n
United has said it will eliminate more than 13,000 jobs if there is no deal.<\/p>\n