More service cuts have been announced by WestJet Airlines (TSX:WJA).
The Calgary-based carrier has said it will reduce capacity by a further 30% in February and March, affecting the jobs or pay of roughly 1,000 employees and bringing the number of domestic and international flights it operates down to levels not seen in 20 years.
The latest cuts come after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government ordered travelers to present a recent negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to board flights into Canada. After that requirement was announced, WestJet saw "significant reductions in new bookings and unprecedented cancellations," WestJet Chief Executive Officer Ed Sims said in a news release.
"We have advocated over the past 10 months for a coordinated testing regime on Canadian soil, but this hasty new measure is causing Canadian travelers unnecessary stress and confusion and may make travel unaffordable, unfeasible and inaccessible for Canadians for years to come," Sims said in a written statement.
Trudeau’s ministers and the airline sector have been locked in tense discussions over a possible government relief package since the pandemic began in March 2020. Official talks began last November with Transport Minister Marc Garneau saying any government aid would have conditions, including issuing refunds for unused tickets.
Once the new cuts are implemented through March, WestJet will have reduced its capacity roughly 80% from a year earlier. More than 230 additional weekly departures will be dropped, including 160 domestic flights, and 11 international routes will be suspended. Daily international flights will fall to five, compared with 100 last year.
WestJet will operate about 150 daily departures in all, the smallest number since June 2001, it said. Roughly 1,000 employees across WestJet companies will be affected by furloughs, temporary layoffs, unpaid leaves or reduced hours. The company will also freeze all hiring.
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