|
 In early August, the company became the first U.S. carrier to
require COVID-19 vaccinations for all domestic employees, requiring
proof of vaccination by Monday.
The carrier said it would start on Tuesday the process of firing 593
employees who decided not to get vaccinated.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision but keeping our team safe
has always been our first priority," Chief Executive Scott Kirby and
President Brett Hart told employees in a memo.
The workers can save their jobs if they get vaccinated before their
formal termination meetings, the company officials said.
United has received requests for vaccine exemptions from employees
for religious and medical reasons. Those employees account for less
than 3% of the airline's 67,000 U.S. workforce, United officials
said.
The company had plans to put employees who received religious
exemptions on temporary, unpaid personal leave from Oct. 2. Those
plans, however, have been put on hold until Oct. 15 because of a
lawsuit challenging the policy.
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 Excluding those who have sought
an exemption, United said more than 99% of
U.S.-based employees have been vaccinated
against COVID-19.
A company spokesperson said the airline plans to
hire about 25,000 people over the next few
years, and vaccination will be a condition of
employment for all new hires.
United will also require students at its pilot
training school to get vaccinated, the
spokesperson said.
The company dismissed the notion that the
vaccine requirement was deterring applicants for
jobs at the air carrier.
United received 700 applications for about 400
job postings last month at a Denver career fair.
Similarly, it has received more than 20,000
applications for about 2,000 open positions for
flight attendants, the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago;
Editing by Matthew Lewis, Richard Chang and
Cynthia Osterman)
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