The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net UNCERTAINTY surrounded the fate of 100 American Eagle jobs in the Bahamas last night, with the airline's parent, AMR Corporation, having announcing plans to slash as many as 13,000 jobs as part of its bankruptcy reorganisation. The head of American Eagle's Bahamian operations told Tribune Business yesterday it was still unclear what impact this would have on the 100 employees here in the Bahamas. Betty Wilson, general manager of American Eagle told Tribune Business: "We don't know yet if we will be impacted, and to what level if we are. We have not received any word as yet." Ms Wilson said American Eagle employs just over 100 employees here in the Bahamas and operates nine flights; eight daily flights into Florida and one into Dallas on weekends only. AMR said this week that it would shed up to 13,000 jobs - around 15 per cent of its workforce. AMR said it wanted to cut staff costs by 20 per cent in a bid to reduce spending by $2 billion, and raise revenue by $1billion per year. AMR, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November, also wants to make changes to its staff pensions. AMR added that it will restructure debt and retire older aircraft, which will help save on fuel costs. Its 88,000 strong workforce is mostly represented by three main unions, which are opposed to the changes. AMR said it plans to begin negotiations with the three unions shortly. AMR reportedly lost $884 million in the first nine months of 2011, and on Tuesday disclosed a $904 million loss for December alone. AMR has reportedly lost more than $11 billion since 2001. The biggest cuts are expected to be among maintenance workers. AMR's company pension funds are underfunded by billions of dollars, and the company said it could no longer afford them.