First Air lays off 25 workers in N.W.T., Nunavut, Winnipeg
Company says 20 of those laid off have taken jobs at its partner airlines
First Air has laid off 25 people across the North, though 20 of those people have already been hired by its partner airlines, says the company.
René Armas Maes, First Air's director of sales and marketing, says the cuts affected workers in Rankin Inlet, Winnipeg, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Cambridge Bay and were the result of recent codeshare agreements signed with Canadian North and Calm Air.
Codesharing is when an airline sells seats and cargo space on another airline's flight.
"The total number of people we have looked at is about 25 people," he said.
"Twenty people have already been transferred to Calm Air and Canadian North and there are only five people we are seeing who decided not to take a offer from our codeshare partners."
Though First Air is making cuts to its operations in western Nunavut, the company says it hopes to expand service in the Baffin Island region.