US Airways shifting jobs for Pittsburgh workers
PITTSBURGH - US Airways will bring all its Airbus heavy maintenance work to a facility near Pittsburgh International Airport under a new plan, but the airline may close two hangers that could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, workers said.
As US Airways continues its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy, it has put hundreds of southwestern Pennsylvania jobs in flux, though airline officials have remained mum.
The airline on Wednesday said it would consolidate its reservations centers in Winston-Salem, N.C., a move that will keep hundreds of jobs in North Carolina but will mean the loss of more than 800 jobs in Pennsylvania.
Union officials briefed of the airline's plans say the heavy maintenance work could save 600 jobs at the airport, but that as many as 600 jobs will be cut when the airline closes hydraulic, electric and instrument shops.
Anthony Pica, a mechanic who has worked for the airline for 15 years, said he was told by union officials that anyone hired after 1986 could lose their jobs.
"These guys are squeezing us down to the very minimum," he said.
At the same time that Airbus work would be brought to the region, heavy maintenance done locally on Boeing 737 airplanes could be moved to Charlotte, N.C, and Alabama, union officials said.
A little more than half of US Airways' 281-jet fleet is made up of Boeing aircraft, but industry experts say that the airline is moving to incorporate more Airbus jets.
Officials with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said they could not confirm details of the report that was being cited by workers.
"It doesn't mean the (mechanics) are wrong," said IAM spokesman Joseph Tiberi. "All I can say is that we have not been officially notified yet."
US Airways had no comment.