United tells ALL employees to consider 'voluntary separation' from the airline and 'plans to cut 3,400 management jobs' as company delivers 'painful news' amid fallout from COVID-19

United Airlines has told all its employees to consider 'voluntary separation' from the company as it deals with the fallout from the coronavirus. 

The Chicago based company has said it plans to cut 3,400 management jobs and administrative positions in October, as the pandemic crushes air travel demand. 

Chief operations officer Greg Hart told staff in a letter seen by CNN: 'You may want to seriously consider if you're in a position to take a voluntary separation. You, alone, can decide if a [Voluntary Separation Program] works for you and your family.'

It has also told pilots to brace for changes as well, according to two memos seen by Reuters. The company employed 96,000 people as of December 2019.  

Hart added: 'We recognize that this is painful news, but it provides what we believe is the most accurate assessment of what lies ahead for our company.'

United is among the U.S. airlines that have accepted government payroll aid that bans job or pay cuts before September 30. 

However, United and other carriers have warned that demand is unlikely to recover to pre-crisis levels by that date, forcing them to shrink in the fall.

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A United Airlines flight crew walks through the terminal at San Francisco International Airport on April 12. The Chicago based company has said it plans to cut 3,400 management jobs and administrative positions in October as the pandemic crushes air travel demand

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United Airlines has told all its employees to consider 'voluntary separation' from the company as it deals with the fallout from the coronavirus. United Airlines planes sit parked on a runway at Denver International Airport as the coronavirus pandemic slows air travel on April 22

The United memos are the first indication of just how much major airlines might downsize due to the health crisis.

'We have to acknowledge that there will be serious consequences to our company if we don't continue to take strong and decisive action, which includes making decisions that none of us ever wanted or expected to make,' Kate Gebo, Executive Vice President Human Resources and Labor Relations, said in the memo to some 11,500 management and administrative employees.

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Chief operations officer Greg Hart told staff: 'You may want to seriously consider if you're in a position to take a voluntary separation'

Affected employees will be notified in mid to late July for an Octber 1 effective date, she said, while encouraging employees to consider a voluntary separation before that date.

In a separate memo seen by Reuters, pilots were told to prepare for a 'displacement' that will affect roughly 30 per cent of roughly 12,250 pilots.

One pilot union official said the group was interpreting the message to mean a 30 per cent reduction as soon as October 1.

United sent memos on Monday to a number of work groups about near-term changes and potential long-term implications, spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.

'Travel demand is essentially zero for the foreseeable future and, even with federal assistance that covers a portion of our payroll expense through Sept. 30, we anticipate spending billions of dollars more than we take in for the next several months, while continuing to employ 100% of our workforce,' United spokesman Frank Benenati said in an email. 'That's not sustainable for any company.'

United and other airlines, which only months ago were mapping out growth plans, have parked jets and drastically cut flight schedules in an effort to reduce costs and shore up cash until demand recovers.  

 The situation facing the airline industry has grown more dire since the first quarter ended: Air travel in the U.S. during April remained down 95 per cent from a year ago, judging by the number of people screened at the nation's airports. 

United posted a $1.7 billion loss, its biggest since 2008. The loss was expected, since United said last week that it suffered a pretax loss of $2.1 billion.

The airline is shrinking its flight schedule by 90% in May and probably a similar amount in June.

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Empty United Airlines ticket machines are shown at the Tampa International Airport Friday, April 24. The United memos are the first indication of just how much major airlines might downsize due to the health crisis

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A lone ticketing agent works the United Airlines counter at Colorado Springs Airport on Saturday, April 18. United is among the U.S. airlines that have accepted government payroll aid that bans job or pay cuts before September 30

United CEO Oscar Munoz said deep schedule cuts and aggressive borrowing to boost liquidity would help the company bounce back when demand returns. He did not offer a prediction for when that might happen. 

'Never before has our airline, or our industry, faced such a significant challenge,' American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said.

American reported a loss of $2.24 billion, the biggest loss since it came out of bankruptcy and merged with US Airways in 2013. With little money coming in from ticket sales, and unsure when the public will feel like flying again, airlines are hunkering down.  

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has cut its flight schedule by 80 per cent in April and May and 70 per cent in June. Fewer passengers will mean fewer employees.   

The American and United losses dwarfed the $534 million loss reported last month by Delta Air Lines, which is slightly larger by revenue, and a $94 million loss posted by Southwest Airlines last week. 

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The Tom Bradley International terminal at the Los Angeles International airport looks eerily quiet as workers and passengers alike continue to take precautionary measures