Air Canada Reducing Maintenance, Union Fears Job Losses
The International Union of Machinists and Aerospace Workers claimed Friday morning that Air Canada was temporarily laying off about 255 workers in Winnipeg.
The airline later shot down that claim, saying that its maintenance requirements would be cut back, but denied any job losses.
Union employees working for Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. — the independent company that handles maintenance for the airline — says jobs could be lost by April and into June 2010.
An airline spokesperson said any reduction in maintenance would occur at the Montreal-based Aveos facility, and not in Winnipeg.
Aveos said that despite the union’s claims, no decisions on layoffs has been made.
UPDATED: 3:30 p.m. — Corrects previous version of this story, which the union claimed Air Canada was laying off 255 people in Winnipeg.
– With files from Brian Schultz
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December 18th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
The CBC story you got your information from was wrong and has since been corrected. Thre have been no lay offs. There will be job reductions at Aveos next year becasue there will be less work for Aveos to do on Air Canada planes in 2010, but talks between Aveos, Air Canada and the IAM on mitigating those reductions are on going into next year.
Chris D dot ca Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
The information we collected was from a union spokesperson, not the CBC.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Before people get all in a tizzy about the reduced maintenance on aircraft, ask yourself how many times a month you check the air pressure in your car tires. Like me, you probably lost that nipple gadget a long time ago and just guesstimate tire health by how flat it does or doesn’t look.
I would rather fly in a big jet than drive to Brandon, any day.
And I can’t find my tire gauge either.
JavaScript_Junkie Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Hi WpgCaneraMan
I bet u r from Winnipeg! I was born there but grew up in Montreal.
Cheers
December 20th, 2009 at 8:47 am
What everyone has to understand is that the employees who WILL be laid-off are currently Air Canada employees working for the “benefit” of Aveos, a shell of a company formed in Oct 2007 with American monies, and currently all they own are the managers that watch over the “seconded” employees.
Aveos has been trying for 2 years to reach some for of transition agreement whereby the ex-Air Canada employees can be provided employment at Aveos and become full time Aveos workers. To date, Aveos has not been shown to be a viable company and until they are no transition will occur and we will remain within the Air Canada family.
This game of each company claiming no lay-offs is disgusting. Air Canada should be coming out with an official news release stating that upwards of 800 of it’s employees are being let go due to a maintenance extension given on their fleet of Airbus’.