The news came in an airport conference room, just more than a week ago.
Executives from US Airways’ Piedmont subsidiary told their 23 employees at University Park Airport that they would be dismissed effective June 14. Each of the affected workers will receive an exit payment equal to four weeks’ pay, a payment for unused vacation time, and a limited extension of free-travel benefits on the airline, said Jim O’Keefe, a local customer-service agent for the company.
US Airways and Piedmont representatives could not be reached immediately this week, but Piedmont leaders told workers that the decision to cut jobs was purely a cost-savings move, O’Keefe said. The employees are not represented by a collective-bargaining unit.
‘This saves (the company) money,’ said O’Keefe, who has worked for Piedmont for 30 years, 17 of them at University Park Airport. ‘They (company leaders) told us that straight up.’
O’Keefe estimated that the US Airways-Piedmont workers at the airport have spent an average of 15 to 20 years with the company. ‘The staff that’s leaving is a very dedicated staff, very knowledgeable,’ he said. ‘We do the job well; we have a solid record.’
The 23-employee workforce processes passengers, moves baggage and handles other ground duties for as many as seven US Airways flights a day.
Under a new arrangement, US Airways in June will transfer those duties to Regional Elite Airline Services, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Regional Elite already handles ground functions for three flights a day at University Park Airport, airport Director Bryan Rodgers said.
A message left for Regional Elite on Thursday was redirected to Delta, which did not immediately answer an inquiry from StateCollege.com.
But Jim Meyer, director at the Centre County Airport Authority, said Regional Elite plans to grow its local staff as it takes over responsibility for US Airways flights.
Meyer said the current US Airways staff works about 660 hours to handle nearly 50 flights each week. The expanded Regional Elite team is expected to work about 650 hours to handle all Delta and US Airways flights — about 70 flights a week overall, Meyer said.
‘When we have delays and things happen, oh, it’s going to be ugly here,’ he said.
The US Airways-Piedmont workforce is the longest-serving and best-performing airline staff at the airport, Meyer said. He has heard no complaints about the US Airways-Piedmont operations, which have benefited from the longevity and commitment of the employees, he said.
‘Nobody saw this coming,’ Meyer said of the job cuts. ‘Everybody was blindsided.’
Technically, US Airways is referring to the workforce reductions as three-year furloughs, airport workers said. That means they would be eligible to return to work locally for Piedmont if the subsidiary regains a presence at the airport in the next three years, O’Keefe said.
Piedmont has offered to transfer the affected workers to other airports as openings become available, Meyer said.
It’s not yet clear whether any of them may take new jobs with Regional Elite. That company has yet to meet with the US Airways workers, O’Keefe said Thursday.
Meyer said US Airways and Delta are engaged in a series of new business arrangements. US Airways is turning over its ground operations at three airports — including University Park — to the Regional Elite subsidiary, and Delta is shifting its ground operations at seven airports to US Airways, he said.
At University Park Airport, US Airways workers have genuinely enjoyed their jobs, O’Keefe said.
‘I feel like (the company) is losing a hard-working, dedicated staff that gave 100 percent to do a good job,’ he said.
