Gate Gourmet airline caterer sacks 247 LAX workers – Daily News



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Hammered by a business slowdown linked to the pandemic, the airline catering company Gourmet Door plans to lay off 536 California workers next month, including 247 at Los Angeles International Airport.

These discounts, along with 289 more at San Francisco International Airport, are expected to take effect on November 19.

Gate Gourmet’s move follows a similar layoff by LSG Sky Chefs, which drops around 576 workers at airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Ana.

In a recent opinion Sent to the state’s Department of Employment Development, Jose Nunes, a business unit manager of Gate Gourmet’s operations in Los Angeles, said the company still faces challenges related to COVID-19.

The summer travel season has managed to rebound, he said, but the airline catering industry is still “lagging behind other segments of the larger airline ecosystem.”

“Government funding that has been helpful in supporting additional employment beyond our business needs is coming to an end,” he wrote, adding that the company can no longer maintain current employment levels at LAX.

The layoffs will impact a variety of Gate Gourmet positions at the airport, including 69 preparers, 74 food prep workers, 20 senior porters, 46 dishwashers, 12 cooks, 17 store helpers and two sous. -chiefs, among others.

All but six employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 572.

Pursuant to a collective agreement between Gate Gourmet and the Teamsters, dismissed union workers will have no bumping rights to displace other employees with less seniority, and they are not guaranteed to be called back to work after a certain period. time.

“We never welcome layoffs,” said Jaime Villanueva, sales representative for IBT Local 572. “But given the times we live in, the work just isn’t here right now. We are still feeling the effects of COVID-19. “

Villanueva said some Gate Gourmet employees at LAX have moved to other states where the company has opened new kitchens.

Based in Switzerland, Gate Gourmet serves more than 700 million passengers per year from 200 locations in more than 60 countries and territories around the world, according to the company’s website.

Data Statistics show that the volume of passengers traveling to or from the United States fell to 67 million in 2020, down 26.5% from the 253 million who flew in 2019. Passenger volume through July this year reached 106 million.

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