via: myfoxhouston.com
HOUSTON – Five hundred area workers are set to lose their jobs, according to a Continental Airlines announcement made on Monday.
Houston-based Continental and Chicago-based United Airlines merged in October 2010 forming the world’s largest airline. As a result of the merger, 500 Houston employees are being laid off between April 1 and June 1.
— Management, Administrators at Risk of Job Loss —
Continental says the layoffs will not affect frontline employees:
•Pilots
•Flight attendants
•Cargo workers
•Ticket agents
The employees impacted will be management and administrative employees.
As required by law, the airline alerted the Texas Workforce Commission regarding the layoffs. A number of job placement agencies are now gearing up for the mass lay-offs in an effort to help those workers find new jobs.
“It’s difficult to find jobs. We don’t have as many jobs at this time as we did a year ago. We have about 88,000 people that are looking for jobs in the region. 500 is a large number. It’s a large layoff,” Sue Cruver, with Workforce Solutions, said.
— Houston is in Better Job Position than Rest of U.S. —
The Texas unemployment rate is 8.3 percent. That’s compared to the 9.4 percent of Americans unemployed nationally.
“What we have to tell people today in this market is that you may not find a job just like the one you lost. Therefore what we need to do is work with you and help you find a new direction for your career. We’re strong in the sense that Houston is diversified between its medical and energy and construction. So we are in a better position than a lot of the other parts of the country,” Cruver said.
— Calculate Your Unemployment Benefits —
If you are facing a lay off the state suggests you go to http://www.texasworkforce.org . There you can apply for unemployment benefits and find the best agencies to help you look for another job. The phone number to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is 800-939-6631 .
The TWC benefits estimator can help you figure out how much unemployment you’ll receive.
•If you make $20,000 a year: Your benefits would be about $200 a week.
•If you make $43,000 a year or more: You receive the maximum $415 a week.
Initially unemployment benefits last for 26 weeks, a little more than six months. Right now, federal laws are extending those benefits to up to 93 weeks.
United-Continental says even more layoffs could occur. Houston Mayor Annise Parker says she believes, in the end, Houston will have a gain in jobs as a result of the Continental United merger.
