American Air’s Officer Ranks to Shrink 30% With Voluntary Exits

(Bloomberg) -- American Airlines Group Inc. will reduce its officer ranks by 30% as the carrier slims down operations in the wake of reduced travel demand because of the coronavirus.

Fourteen of the company's officers will be leaving voluntarily, including veteran revenue management and customer experience leaders, and five other positions will remain vacant, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said in a memo to employees Thursday. The shake-up is the first phase of changes under which 30% of management and support staff will be cut at American.

“There is no question this is a time of unprecedented change,” President Robert Isom said in a separate memo. The management changes and “the reality of becoming a smaller airline on the backside of this pandemic will change the way we do business.”

The changes add to the nearly 109,000 employees at the four largest U.S. airlines that already have opted to take voluntary leaves or retire early. Carriers are hoping the volunteers will help avoid or reduce widespread furloughs on Oct. 1, when a prohibition on job cuts tied to federal aid expires. Carriers saw travel demand drop to near zero in April as the virus spread and lockdowns and travel restrictions multiplied around the world.

Don Casey will retire as head of American's revenue organization after 20 years with the carrier, but will remain as an adviser through the end of this year, Isom said. Kurt Stache, senior vice president of customer experience, has opted to leave American after 25 years. He'll also work temporarily as an adviser to help complete critical projects underway, the airline said.

Vasu Raja will move to the new role of chief revenue officer from his current job as senior vice president of network strategy, while retaining oversight of network and alliances. David Seymour, senior vice president of operations, was named chief operating officer.