FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth-based American Airlines will lay off 321 of its customer service employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by the end of March. In total, the airline will lay off more than 650 people.
The airline plans to create a new customer service unit called the Customer Success Team that will be made up of only 135 employees.
Additionally, the airline announced it will lay off around 335 of its employees in Phoenix, according to NBC DFW.
In a statement, American said the layoffs and consolidating of the Customer Success Team will “help us better serve our customers.”
The airline says the positions affected are not connected to a union.
American Airlines says employees affected by the layoffs will be able to apply for another role at the company. Job openings with the new Customer Success Team will be available to affected employees for several weeks before being opened to outside candidates.
The company says it will provide severance to employees who don’t find work elsewhere or don’t qualify for retirement. For those who plan to look for work outside of the company, American will provide outplacement support.
Affected employees will continue working and be paid through March 30, according to the airline.
Currently, passengers traveling on American Airlines have to reach out to separate customer service teams for different issues, but the airline says the new structure will consolidate that assistance into one team, according to USA TODAY.
According to Bloomberg, the layoffs will eliminate 8.2% of its 8,000 customer service-related positions for a total of 656 employees, who are not represented by a union.