United to hire 15,000 workers, with focus on Chicago
United added 15,000 workers last year as the airline industry accelerated its recovery from the COVID-19 slowdown, which caused carriers to shed thousands of jobs. The pandemic coincided with a demographic cliff, as large numbers of baby boomers at legacy airlines such as United head for retirement.
By 2026, United, which has about 95,000 employees, will have hired 50,000 new workers in five years. The airline will hire 2,300 pilots this year and 10,000 total during this decade.
Nearly half its mechanics are eligible for retirement, which means it will need to hire 7,000 new ones. "It's our biggest challenge," said Kate Gebo, the airline's head of human resources and labor relations.
United also is hiring more technology workers to build apps, which increasingly provide the airline's primary link to customers, as well as cybersecurity.
The airline says it's taking advantage of the wave of layoffs that have swept through technology companies such as Google, Facebook parent Meta, Amazon as well as Accenture. United landed more than 800 prospects from a recent online job fair. The company says it has received more applications from technology workers through April than it did all of last year.
"Most of our digital tech jobs are in Chicago or Houston," Gebo said. "We're actively recruiting on the West Coast and are encouraging folks to explore Chicago."
Despite United’s ambitious hiring goals, there is sometimes more supply than demand. The company already has received more than 12,000 applications for 4,000 flight attendant jobs. It expects applications to top 30,000 before the year is over.
It has hired more than 120 tech workers from major tech companies, more than half of whom are women or people of color.
Source: Crain's Chicago Business
