WestJet Set to Lay Off 415 Pilots as Talks With Ottawa Drag On

WestJet is set to issue layoff notices to 415 pilots as talks with Ottawa about financial help for Canada's airline sector continue to drag on.

WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell said the layoff notices are going out ahead of the expiration of a memorandum of agreement with the Airline Pilots Association on March 31.

CTV News says WestJet on Feb. 5 announced that it would lay off 120 cabin crew members as of March 2, blaming the measure on the lack of flights to sun destinations.

WestJet, Air Canada, Transat and Sunwing last month agreed to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30 as a way to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Canada's airlines have been negotiating a sector-specific aid package with the Trudeau government since early November. There have been several recent reports that a deal was close, but there's been no announcement.

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