SAN JOSE, Calif. — Fresh employment cuts loom over the Bay Area’s uneven economy with a loss of hundreds of jobs due to shifting business needs for an airline and retrenchments for some high-profile tech companies.
Texas-based American Airlines has decided to close its flight attendant base at San Francisco International Airport, a decision that will eliminate more 417 jobs on the Peninsula.
San Jose-based PayPal is cutting 59 jobs at its headquarters complex amid an ongoing belt-tightening at the well-known financial tech company.
Menlo Park-based Facebook app owner Meta Platforms has decided to jettison 11,000 workers worldwide, the company’s top boss Mark Zuckerberg told employees in a letter on Wednesday. A significant impact from that announcement is expected to descend on the Bay Area job market.
San Francisco-based Salesforce is believed to have cut hundreds of jobs, although it’s uncertain what the impact might be on the Bay Area.
These ongoing staffing reductions arrive within days of massive layoffs at San Francisco-based Twitter after Tesla boss Elon Musk took the helm at the reeling social media microblogging platform.
Twitter jettisoned 983 jobs in California, a cutback that includes 890 Bay Area layoffs. Almost 800 workers in San Francisco lost their jobs, with more than 100 employees laid off in San Jose.
The American Airlines cutbacks will affect the air carrier’s flight attendant base at 806 S. Airport Blvd. in South San Francisco, according to a WARN notice that the company sent to the state Employment Development Department.
“Changing business needs require us to close this flight attendant base in its entirety,” American Airlines stated in the WARN notice to the EDD. “We thought it prudent and appropriate to provide you with this notice.”
The shutdown of the American Airlines flight attendant hub at San Francisco International Airport is expected to be permanent, the aviation company said in the filing with the EDD. But the impact is confined to the flight attendant base, the airline said.
“No other operating units at SFO will be affected,” American Airlines stated.
The shutdown of the flight attendant facility is scheduled for early next year, the filing stated.
“The company officially will close the flight attendant base at San Francisco International Airport on Jan. 31, 2023,” American Airlines stated. “More than sixty days’ notification was given to our workers on Nov. 2, 2022.”
Each of the 400-plus flight attendants who are being affected by the permanent closure will be allowed to transfer to other American Airlines hubs, the air carrier stated.
“All flight attendants will have the opportunity to voluntarily transfer to other bases,” American Airlines stated. “Those who do not voluntarily transfer by Jan. 31, 2023, will be transferred on Jan. 31, 2023, or within the 14-day period after that date.”
PayPal stated in its WARN letter that it has already begun terminating workers. The tech company anticipates that the layoff process is slated to continue for another week or two.
The job cuts are being conducted in the PayPal office at 2211 N. First St. in San Jose.
“PayPal is undertaking restructuring activity that will result in employee exits,” the company stated in its WARN notice to the EDD.
The vast majority of employees being jettisoned at PayPal in the current round of layoffs appeared to be in the software, engineering, and technical fields, a review of the WARN notice shows.
“These terminations will be effective not less than 60 days from notifications and will be permanent,” PayPal stated. “In addition, PayPal does not provide “bumping rights” to affected employees.”
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