United-Continental Merger Means Fewer Jobs in Houston; Higher Costs?
Published: Dec 2, 2011
Something about the United Airlines-Continental Airlines merger seems a little counter-intuitive: the merging airline announced that a large number of management and clerical jobs in what was previously Continental’s relatively inexpensive headquarters in Houston to Chicago, one of the U.S. cities with the highest labor costs in the country. Either that, or newly elected Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel made the merging airline a deal that the airline couldn’t refuse.
The United-Continental merger will mean 1,500 fewer jobs in the carrier's downtown Houston corporate offices, an airline spokeswoman said, essentially closing the facility.
Chicago-based United, which has its offices near downtown Chicago, and Houston-based Continental, which operated most of its headquarters operating in downtown, merged and took the United name, but the Continental tail logo. The merged carrier is being led by former Continental CEO Jeff Smisek, which is unusual since United was the acquiring airline.
Continental’s corporate offices at 1600 Smith and Jefferson streets will remain open, but most of them will involve the running of the hub, and it’s likely that the lease to the facility, which will expire in 2014, will result in its closing at that time. Some airline IT, revenue accounting, human resources and corporate communications departments will stay in Houston for now.
United has informed the Texas Workforce Commission that it will eliminate at least 500 jobs at its downtown Houston offices between April and June 30. Those jobs were primarily in management and clerical positions, United said in a letter to the agency.
However, airline officials have maintained that there will be far fewer layoffs among flight attendants, pilots and other front-line employee jobs, if any. A total of about 16,000 employees are currently employed by United/Continental in Houston, where the former Continental operated its largest hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
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by Jim Brown , Reporter for HelloFlight.com
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