File photo of an American Airlines Boeing 787 landing at London Heathrow Airport in 2022. (Photo by Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) article

File photo of an American Airlines Boeing 787 landing at London Heathrow Airport in 2022. (Photo by Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines is reducing their management and support staff to “right-size” for the work they currently do, they announced Tuesday. 

The cuts will mostly be made in Fort Worth, where the airline is based, they confirmed to FOX 4 in a statement. 

American Airlines layoffs

What we know:

The airline says the layoffs are intended to optimize their performance and efficiency. 

They say they plan to continue investing in areas that support their long-term goals. 

What they’re saying:

The statement American released to FOX 4 Tuesday reads in full below:

“We’re making a small reduction to our management and support staff team to right-size for the work we do today. The positions are primarily at our Fort Worth headquarters and will help us optimize our performance and become even more efficient across the organization. We remain focused on continuing to invest in areas that support American’s long-term business objectives, and these targeted investments will be made thoughtfully to position our airline for continued success.”

What we don’t know:

It’s not clear exactly how many employees will be laid off, or when the cuts will take place. 

American Airlines troubles

Dig deeper:

The news comes after issues this year with airline earnings. American reported losses in their first quarter, following a deadly January midair accident among other impacts.

The crash above the Potomac River between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter on Jan. 29. 64 people aboard the jet and three on the helicopter were killed. American was sued after the crash, with claims that the incident was avoidable. 

American noted a positive area by saying business and international flights have remained steady. The airline entered a partnership with AT&T to provide free Wi-Fi to the advantage of members next year. 

Staffing issues and government shutdown

Big picture view:

More recently, airports have experienced ground delays due to the ongoing government shutdown.

DFW Airport, where American is based, had delays as high as 72 minutes just last week. These were largely attributed to staffing problems, as traffic controllers have gone without pay during the shutdown. 

There is no clear end in sight for the shutdown.

The Source: Information in this report came from American Airlines and previous FOX 4 coverage. 

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