Air Canada has informed its flight attendants' union of plans to lay off 632 cabin crew in the coming months. The layoffs of 9% of the carrier's flight attendants are a part of its Air Canada's capacity reduction plans, announced last month, which will result in cuts of up to 2,000 positions across all levels of the organization.Air Canada officials said that 300 flight attendant positions will be eliminated from Vancouver, due to a decrease in international long-haul flights from that base. In addition, Air Canada will close its flight attendant bases at Winnipeg and Halifax as of November 1. As a result, 145 flight attendant jobs in Winnipeg, and 187 in Halifax will be lost. According to news reports, Air Canada may offer some flight attendants who are losing their jobs at those bases an opportunity to transfer to Toronto or Montreal.
Air Canada flight attendants are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). An article about the Air Canada layoffs on the CBC News website quotes Lisa Vivian Anthony, president of CUPE Local 4090 in Halifax, who said, "We are shocked and we are in a state of disbelief. Our base has been in operation in Halifax for 32 years, so this is essentially the end of an era for us."
