International

ACTS: Turmoil in the airline industry caused by soaring fuel costs has cost 650 engine and maintenance workers their jobs as ACTS, the former Air Canada Technical Services, cut its workforce partly in response to maintenance deferrals at Air Canada. Employees were notified recently about the immediate layoffs that affected 250 full-time employees and 400 others, most of whom worked on contracts to overhaul two Air Canada aircraft models. An ACTS spokeswoman said the rising cost of fuel that has caused several airlines to file for bankruptcy, reduce capacity and ground aircraft prompted the privately held company to take the decision.

Air Canada: Air Canada has confirmed it will lay off more than 630 flight attendants this fall in Vancouver, Halifax and Winnipeg. The bulk of the layoffs will be in Vancouver, where 300 flight attendants will lose their jobs. The layoffs are part of a company-wide round of 2,000 job cuts, initially announced in mid-June but without any of the specifics on where the losses would come. An estimated 78 maintenance workers in Winnipeg who service Air Canada and other flight companies will also be out of work later this month, and at least 80 will lose their jobs in Montreal. Jazz, the regional feeder carrier for Air Canada, is also cutting 270 jobs.

Jazz Air LP: Jazz Air LP has not yet identified all airports that will be affected by its move announced recently to reduce flight capacity by five percent and cut its workforce by roughly 270 employees. The air carrier, operating about 80 daily flights, said company officials will specify the affected airports and employees once Air Canada releases its fall and winter schedules later this month. Officials with New Brunswick's three largest airports said Jazz's service and workforce cuts, expected to spread across the country, may have minimal impacts on their operations, though they said it's not likely. But they said the cuts were expected after Air Canada, which purchases nearly all of Jazz's fleet capacity, announced its cutbacks last month. Jazz operates daily flights through Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Bathurst, where it is the only carrier.