Thousands of workers in the struggling airline industry have taken early retirement, voluntary leaves and separation agreements as the airlines prepare for massive layoffs in October when the Cares Act payroll support system expires. The number of employees has already decreased by 132,000 from March to June. The flight attendants' union reports that 1,000 flight attendants have tested positive for the coronavirus, and is pushing to extend the Cares Act until March 2020, given that only 20% of air travel has resumed. American Airlines could furlough up to 20,000 employees, with United saying that up to 36,000 employees - half its workforce - could be laid off. The sobering numbers continue in a similar vein for other U.S. airlines such as Jet Blue, Spirit, and Alaska airlines - overall, the number of lost jobs for each airline varies between 30-60% of their current workforce.
See "Thousands of airline workers to be laid off in October once Cares Act expires", Michael Sainato, The Guardian, August 17, 2020