American Airlines to cut 7,000 jobs

American Airlines is to cut 7,000 jobs by March next year.

The company is cutting costs in response to the slump in the air travel industry.

American Airlines is mothballing its 74-jet fleet of Fokker 100s and has also deferred 35 aircraft deliveries in 2002.

Chairman and chief executive Donald J. Carty says: "We believe our future lies in continuing to operate as the world's leading network carrier.

"But we must get our costs down in order to compete and must focus on the products our customers want and are willing to pay for.

"Our decisions going forward will be framed around those objectives and geared toward positioning American to succeed and be profitable."

The job losses are part of measures aimed at saving the company more than $1.1bn (€1.12bn) a year.