GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A company that provides passenger and baggage handling services at Gerald R. Ford International Airport is laying off 55 employees.
Swissport, an aviation services company headquartered in Switzerland, says reduced air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic has left it without enough revenue to maintain its current workforce.
The company began laying off employees in late April and expects to complete its last layoffs by the end of June, the company told the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
The layoffs are expected to be permanent.
About 2,000 people work at the airport, including airline employees, companies that provide airline support services, food vendors and more.
The layoffs come amid a challenging time for the commercial airline industry. The coronavirus pandemic has sharply reduced at Gerald R. Ford International Airport and elsewhere.
In May, for example, daily passenger traffic was down 86 percent, according to airport figures. That’s up from a 90 percent decline in April.
There have been other staffing reductions at the airport besides Swissport.
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, the organization that operates the airport, has reduced its staff through 11 separations and 13 retirements or resignations, according to the airport authority.
By the end of this month, the job reductions will have reduced the authority’s staff from 111 to 87, said Stephen Clark, the authority’s business development manager.
Clark declined to discuss what specific positions were eliminated but said the reductions were made “throughout our organization.”
He cited the decline in passenger traffic when asked about the reason for the layoffs.
“We continue to operate, but with fewer passengers, the airlines have fewer flights, Swissport is handling fewer bags, we are parking fewer cars, etc,” Clark said.
“We are seeing signs of a rebound and are optimistic that we will be at about 50-55 percent of traffic by the end of the year.”
Clark did not provide an estimate on how much revenue the job reductions would save the airport authority on an annual basis.
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June 26, 2020 at 09:21PM
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Company cuts 55 jobs at Gerald R. Ford International Airport - MLive.com
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