United Airlines announced Wednesday that as it faces its biggest crisis in company history, it is prepared to furlough 45% of its U.S. based workers, almost 36,000 employees.
United is prohibited from any involuntary layoffs until Oct. 1 because of the funding it receives from the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act.
The airline says it has taken numerous measures to cut spending and avoid layoffs, such as cutting executive pay and establishing hiring freezes.
Notices will be sent to all potentially affected employees this week, according to United.
Layoffs for frontline employees will be based on seniority and based on performance for management and administrative employees
United says 3,700 employees have already agreed to separation packages.
The number of layoffs could change depending on if more employees take voluntary layoffs, or if demand changes in the fall.
The following data is a potential breakdown of the layoffs according to United:
Total: 35,902