United Airlines Sending Layoff Notices to Nearly Half of US Employees

United Airlines Sending Layoff Notices to Nearly Half of US Employees
United Airlines planes are parked at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, on March 25, 2020. David J. Phillip/AP
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United Airlines is warning 36,000 employees—nearly half its U.S. staff—they could be furloughed in October, the clearest signal yet of how deeply the virus pandemic is hurting the airline industry.

The outlook for a recovery in air travel has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in much of the United States and some states impose new quarantine requirements on travelers.