MONTREAL - Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) is laying off 632 flight attendants in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax as it cuts capacity in November due to rising fuel costs.
The union representing flight attendants was informed of the job cuts Wednesday during a meeting in Toronto.
The move comes after Canada's largest airline announced plans to cut its capacity by seven per cent and lay off 2,000 employees.
The decrease in international long-haul flights from Vancouver will result in a reduction of 300 flight attendants based in the western gateway.
Air Canada will also close its flight attendant bases in Winnipeg and Halifax, effective Nov. 1. The decision will result in 145 job losses in Winnipeg and 187 in Halifax.
Airline spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said the decision to close the bases was not made lightly.
"However, following a close review it was determined that due to the changing nature of our domestic flying over the past five years, it was no longer viable to base in-flight crews at these two locations," she said Thursday.
The bases have become less efficient as more flight attendants based in the two cities have to travel to other base locations to start their workday.
She said the airline will be meeting with Canadian Union of Public Employee representatives to determine bumping and mitigation options that will be made available according to the collective agreement.
Town hall meetings with managers are planned to discuss employee concerns and answer questions.
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