American Airlines announced it would be laying off employees to provide new, “elevated” service to customers, USA Today reported.
The company announced the layoff of 656 employees on Monday, saying it is looking to reorganize and improve its customer service team.
“Today, we announced updates to our contact center organization that will help us better serve our customers. As part of these updates, we are creating a new Customer Success team that will be dedicated to providing more convenient, elevated support to American Airlines customers with some of their most complex travel needs,” the airline said in a statement to KXAS-TV.
The layoffs are centered in the company’s 8,000 customer service-related positions, Bloomberg reported.
According to the airline, 335 people who work in Phoenix and 321 who work in Dallas-Fort Worth are being laid off. Those workers assist passengers with their lost luggage and AAdvantage loyalty program service groups, the company said.
American will be creating a division called the “customer success team,” The Dallas Morning News reported. The airline will hire 135 workers for that new team.
Carolyne Truelove, American Airlines Vice President of Reservations and Service Recovery, said the move is aimed at improving the “customer experience.”
“With that focus is digging deep into where we have customer pain points,” Truelove said.
Laid-off employees will work in their positions until March 30 and can apply for one of the 135 spots on the new customer success team, or one of the 800 other open American Airlines jobs, the announcement read. Otherwise, they will get severance and job placement support.
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