American Airlines has filed for chapter 11 despite having $4 billion cash in hand.
Their new CEO, Thomas Horton said 'It "was really just the best time" for the third-largest U.S. carrier by traffic to seek a court restructuring...'
From the BBC article:
Mr Horton said the board had unanimously decided to file for bankruptcy on Monday night.
He announced that American would be looking to change its employees' terms and conditions. "We plan to initiate further negotiations with all of our unions to reduce our labour costs to competitive levels," he said.
David Bates, president of the Allied Pilots Association conceded that employment terms would change. "The 18-month timeline allotted for restructuring will almost certainly involve significant changes to the airline's business plan and to our contract."
American Airlines has always had strong unions, and they have tended to support each other during contract negotiations and strikes.
AMR said agreements with its workforce forced it to spend $600m (£384m) more than other airlines on staff costs.
I suppose my question for the pro capitalist wing of Daily Kos is, if American Airlines can have $4 billion lying around gathering dust, despite their employees making more money than their counterparts in airlines elsewhere, why do they feel restructuring is necessary to their survival? If that isn't the question, and the board and CEO are only trying to get the same levels of bonuses and compensation as their peers at Continental Airlines, should U.S. bankruptcy courts be complicit in helping them to do this?
Just asking.