AMERICAN AIRLINES has announced that it is to close its international reservations office in Dublin with the loss of 130 jobs.
The airline has operated a call centre here for the past 15 years.
In a statement issued last night, the airline said it had “posted significant losses in recent years; particularly compared to its US competitors which benefited from reducing costs through the bankruptcy courts”.
The company said its losses had resulted in an increased focus on reducing costs and finding efficiencies across all areas of its business.
The airline said it was its intention to outsource the work currently handled in Dublin which it believed would result in “significant savings”.
It said these savings were unlikely to be matched by efficiency gains within the existing operation.
American Airlines, which is a member of the One World alliance of airlines, said it had informed the Irish Communication Workers’ Union and its employees of its intention to close its Dublin call centre.
The company said it would now enter a period of consultation to discuss a proposal to outsource the work to an offshore location. It is not known to which country the jobs will be outsourced.
A statement for the airline said its Dublin staff had been “an important part of the airline’s international operations” making the closure of the call centre a difficult decision.
The company said it was “committed to helping mitigate the impact of this difficult situation on its employees wherever possible”.
The airline stressed that its daily direct flight from Dublin to Chicago’s O’Hare airport would not be affected and would continue to operate as scheduled.
