MONTREAL — Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) has served notice that it plans to layoff more than 1,000 machinists seconded to work at maintenance and overhaul company Aveos Fleet Performance in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
The layoffs, which take place in April and June, include 195 permanent job cuts and 815 temporary job losses due to reduced demand for heavy maintenance of Air Canada’s A319 and A320 planes.
Mitigation efforts reduced the number of permanent job losses, but increased the number of workers who will be off the job for several months this year.
The first wave of layoffs will affect about 470 workers, the second in June another 540. The layoffs will affect some 445 workers in Montreal, although none permanently, 345 in Winnipeg and 220 in Vancouver.
Some of those temporarily laid off could be back at work starting this summer as work picks up, said Aveos spokesman Michael Kuhn.
“We will be recalling them within eight months, starting in July.”
Fred Hospes, a union official with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, accused the airline of bargaining in bad faith during months of efforts to minimize worker layoffs.
He said Air Canada rejected a government-sponsored employment insurance workshare program after demanding that the union rescind previously negotiated mitigation efforts.
“This unethical bargaining tactic was simply requested because Air Canada is not willing to administrate the EI Workshare program,” Hospes said.
“This program would have lessened the blow to our members and the company simply doesn’t care.”
Air Canada wouldn’t specifically comment on mitigation efforts, but said two of the three programs are provided for in the collective agreement.
The union had warned in December about “significant layoffs” in 2010.
The New Democratic party called on the federal government Monday to ensure workers can upgrade their skills, receive full employment insurance benefits quickly and enact legislation to ensure Canadian aircraft are maintained and repaired in Canada.
Aveos said it has no plans to begin servicing any of Air Canada’s planes at its operations in El Salvador.
The company, formerly known as Air Canada Technical Services, was set up in 2007.
IAMAW represents about 3,250 Aveos employees. It is the largest Air Canada union with more than 11,000 members.