Northwest is invoking the clause, called "force majeure," which allows it to lay off employees without notice, in response to the SARS illness. The union representing Northwest's mechanics believes that the airline is exaggerating the impact of SARS as a way to win wage and benefit concessions from its unionized workers. A spokeswoman for the airline said that Northwest did not plan any immediate layoffs, but that the force majeure declaration was "another example of Northwest's continuing efforts to communicate to its unions the current economic realities."
See "Citing SARS, Northwest Invokes Clasue to Allow Layoffs", Michelle Maynard, The New York Times, May 8, 2003