Coronavirus: Thousands of airline workers may lose their jobs

Tens of thousands of airline workers may be out of a job at least temporarily as the coronavirus outbreak continues to contribute to a sharp decrease in air traffic.
According to CNN, although airlines have thus far not introduced any permanent job cuts, multiple carriers have asked their employees to take vacation days at reduced pay or unpaid leaves of absence.
Some companies have frozen recruitment, which could hinder them from filling needed jobs once the epidemic passes.
Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates has asked employees to take voluntary leave in light of the worldwide outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
"We can confirm the email was sent to our employees. The leave we are asking employees to take is voluntary. It is at the employee's discretion if they want to take it or not," the airline confirmed to Khaleej Times.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific temporarily cut down flights by 40 per cent and asked all of its employees globally to take three weeks of unpaid leave before the end of June.
While Lufthansa announced a 50 per cent drop in capacity and currently in talks with unions to deal with the crisis while avoiding layoffs, both JetBlue and United Airlines announced have announced cuts to their schedules. JetBlue has added that it is "reducing hiring for both frontline and support center positions, considering voluntary time off programs as appropriate, and limiting non-essential spending."
There are 2.95 million airline employees worldwide, according to the International Air Transport Association. Even a 5 per cent drop in airline employment would result in about 150,000 lost jobs worldwide.