American Airlines Lays Off Support Staff After Q3 Loss of $114 Million

(DALLAS, TEXAS) American Airlines has cut management and support staff after reporting a third-quarter net loss of $114 million in 2025, with the company calling the move a “small reduction” aimed to “optimize its performance and help improve efficiency.” The reductions include about 500 positions at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport hub, according to multiple industry sources, as the carrier focuses the cuts away from frontline roles such as pilots, flight attendants, and gate agents.

The American Airlines layoff follows the company’s disclosure that it ended the third quarter of 2025 in the red and is concentrating the cuts on non-operational roles. American did not release an official count of jobs eliminated, but industry sources place the scale at approximately 4% to 5% of the airline’s total workforce, equating to roughly 5,000 to 6,500 positions across the company. Those sources described the reductions as spanning mid-management and administrative teams, rather than customer-facing or flight operations staff at airports or in cockpits.

American Airlines said the action is intended to

“optimize its performance and help improve efficiency,”
language that underscores its focus on internal cost controls after reporting a $114 million loss for the third quarter of 2025. The company has not published a department-by-department list of the positions cut or the locations beyond the broad categories of impacted roles. It also has not provided a precise timeline or a headcount for each site, beyond characterizing the overall move as a “small reduction.”

At its home base in North Texas, the ripple is concrete. Multiple industry sources say approximately 500 employees at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are affected. The DFW hub is one of the airline’s most important operational centers, and the local toll underscores how the reductions reach into core corporate and airport support teams. The airline has emphasized that flight attendants, gate agents, and pilots are not part of this round, with the focus instead on support staff and management layers.

The lack of a detailed breakdown leaves open questions about how the cuts are distributed among corporate offices, technology teams, and other back-of-house functions. American Airlines has said the target is performance and efficiency, and the framing of a “small reduction” suggests the airline wants to signal continuity in day-to-day operations while it reshapes internal structures behind the scenes. But the estimated 4% to 5% reduction in total headcount, or about 5,000 to 6,500 jobs, indicates a notable retrenchment in non-frontline roles even as the airline points away from operational disruptions.

Employees in mid-management and administrative posts are the ones most directly in the crosshairs, according to the available descriptions of the reductions. These roles typically cover planning, analysis, scheduling support, human resources, finance, technology support, and other functions that keep a large carrier’s network and business operations organized. While American has not itemized departments, the focus on support staff signals an internal restructuring designed to reduce overhead after a quarter that closed with a $114 million loss.

The airline has not named any executives or provided individual accounts of those affected. As of November 5, 2025, no detailed departmental list or personal stories had been released by the company. That leaves those outside the airline relying on the broad parameters American has set out—cuts centered on management and support, not on pilots, flight attendants, or gate agents—and on the scale estimates reported by industry sources, including the roughly 500 roles tied to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

American Airlines’ characterization of the action as a “small reduction” contrasts with the scale reported by industry sources, who place the cuts in the thousands across the company. The company’s emphasis on “optimize its performance and help improve efficiency” suggests a push to streamline layers of management and support functions that grew during recent years. The reported 4% to 5% workforce reduction, translating to about 5,000 to 6,500 roles, frames the move as sizable even as the airline avoids specifics about which units were hit hardest.

For the North Texas region, the reported 500 positions at the DFW hub reflect how a headline American Airlines layoff can reach into the local economy. The DFW hub houses not only flight operations but also a wide array of office and airport support teams, from maintenance planning and logistics to customer support functions that do not involve gate or cabin responsibilities. With frontline roles excluded, the brunt falls on employees whose work is largely behind the scenes, supporting the complex web of tasks that keep aircraft turning and schedules on track.

American Airlines has not indicated further rounds or provided additional financial guidance linked to the staffing changes beyond tying the move to efficiency and performance following the third-quarter loss. The timing comes as the company confronts the latest quarter’s $114 million deficit and looks to adjust its cost base. Without a department-level roster, the practical effects inside the airline will likely become clearer as teams are reorganized and responsibilities are consolidated among remaining support staff.

The company did not provide comment beyond the framing that it is pursuing a “small reduction” and seeking to “optimize its performance and help improve efficiency.” There were no direct quotes from named executives, and none from affected employees, in the material available. The absence of named statements means the public picture relies on American’s broad description of the goals and scope, and on the numbers reported by multiple industry sources that translate the percentage estimates into an expected range of 5,000 to 6,500 roles companywide.

Workers impacted by large-scale job cuts often review federal notice rules that apply to sizable layoffs. Information about employer notice requirements and worker resources is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s WARN program. American has not disclosed how its internal timeline aligns with any notice protocols or how many sites beyond Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are affected.

As the reductions take effect, the story remains one of scope and emphasis: a third-quarter loss of $114 million, an American Airlines layoff concentrated on management and support staff, and a company message about trimming and streamlining rather than touching the front line. The specific areas of the business where duties will shift or consolidate have not been detailed, and American has not offered a granular accounting of how the reported 4% to 5% reduction translates across locations outside the DFW hub.

For now, the clearest facts sit in the company’s own words and the figures reported by industry sources.

“A small reduction”
American described the action as a “small reduction” and tied it to a need to “optimize its performance and help improve efficiency,” while multiple sources say the cuts could total approximately 5,000 to 6,500 jobs, with about 500 of those at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The focus on support staff and management ranks this round of reductions as a reshaping of the back office rather than a change to the front line, even as the scale points to a broad restructuring within the country’s largest airline by traffic.