United Airlines’ pilots’ union to reach limited furlough agreement

On Thursday, United Airlines’ (UAL.O) and its pilots’ union said that they had reached an agreement on two different resolutions to reduce involuntary furloughs in August. The company said that it would keep pilots ready once the global travel demand starts to pick up.

The Chicago-based airline warned its employees last week that it could furlough as many as 36,000 U.S.-based frontline workers or about 45% of its total staff including 2,250 pilots.

“Our primary goal throughout this crisis has been to ensure United – and the jobs it supports – are here when customers are flying again. The United Airlines projected furlough numbers are a gut punch, but they are also the most honest assessment we’ve seen on the state of the industry,” the airline said.

The U.S. government offered $50 billion to support the airline industry which agreed not to lay off workers or cut pay until September 30.