Photo: Patrik Stollarz / Getty Images
Gate Gourmet air catering company, affected by the pandemic, plans to lay off 536 workers in California next month , included 247 in the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
These clippings, along with others 253 at San Francisco International Airport, will be effective as of 19 of November .
Gate Gourmet move follows similar firing of LSG Sky Chefs , which will fire some 576 workers at the airports of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Ana .
In a recent notification sent to the State Employment Development Department , José Nunes, head of the Gate Gourmet operations business unit in Los Angeles, said that the company continues to face challenges related to COVID – 19 .
The travel season during the summer got a rebound A, he said, but the airline restaurant sector remains “far behind other segments of the airline ecosystem.”
“Government funding has been helpful in supporting additional employment beyond our business needs is coming to an end ”, adding that the company can no longer maintain current employment levels at the airport Los Angeles .
Data from Statista show that the volume of passengers traveling to or from the United States fell to 67 million in 2020 , a 26. 5% less than 253 million who flew in 2019. The volume of passengers until July of this year reached 106 millions.
The layoffs will affect a number of Gate Gourmet booths at the airport, including 69 Prep workers, 74 food preparation employees, 20 goalkeepers, 46 plate room attendants , 12 chefs, 13 warehouse assistants and two sous chefs, among others.
Most of employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local union
In accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between Gate Gourmet and the Teamsters, fired unionized workers will not have the right to displace other employees s with less seniority , nor will they be guaranteed return to work after a specified time.
Gate Gourmet employees at LAX mentioned that several have moved to other states where the company has opened new kitchens .
Switzerland-based Gate Gourmet serves more than 700 million passengers per year from 200 branches in more than 60 countries all over the world, as mentioned on the company’s website.
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