US Airways to move Airbus maintenance

Some 600 jobs will be cut when the airline closes other shops.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- US Airways will bring all its Airbus heavy maintenance work to a facility near Pittsburgh International Airport under a new plan, but the airline may close two hangars that could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, workers said.
As US Airways continues its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy, it has put hundreds of southwestern Pennsylvania jobs in flux, though airline officials have remained mum.
The airline on Wednesday said it would consolidate its reservations centers in Winston-Salem, N.C., a move that will keep hundreds of jobs in North Carolina but will mean the loss of more than 800 jobs in Pennsylvania.
Union officials briefed of the airline's plans say the heavy maintenance work could save 600 jobs at the airport, but that as many as 600 jobs will be cut when the airline closes hydraulic, electric and instrument shops.
Anthony Pica, a mechanic who has worked for the airline for 15 years, said he was told by union officials that anyone hired after 1986 could lose their jobs.
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