Unvaccinated United Airlines staff drop from 593 to 320 after company says they will be sacked

United Airlines has said the number of employees threatened with dismissal because they are not vaccinated against Covid-19 has dropped by almost half since the deadline to get the first shot passed Monday night.

The Chicago-based airline began the process of laying off 593 workers on Tuesday, although the final separation will take weeks. As of Thursday, only 320 employees were not vaccinated.

United has the strictest vaccine warrant policy of any US airline. In August, the company told its 67,000 U.S. employees that they needed to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the fall to continue working there. Some 2,000 United employees have requested exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

“Our vaccination policy continues to prove that the requirements work – in less than 48 hours, the number of unvaccinated employees who began the company separation process was reduced by almost half, from 593 at 320, “United said in a statement. .