United Airlines to kick off over 600 employees who refuse to take COVID-19 vaccine

Nearly 600 United Airlines employees are facing dismissal after failing to comply with the company's Covid-19 vaccination policy. The vast majority of its 67,000 US employees provided evidence of the vaccination, which was required Monday.

"This was a tough decision," their bosses said in a memo to staff.

The Chicago-based airline listed its covid requirements for staff in August. The airlines' US staff had to upload evidence of the vaccination, or the first of two jabs, after the deadline Monday.

The 593 workers who refused a coronavirus vaccination and did not seek an exception for religious or medical reasons are now losing their jobs.

"Our rationale for requiring vaccination for all U.S.-based employees was simple - to keep our people safe - and the truth is this: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated, and vaccination requirements work," he said.

"This was a tough decision but keeping our team safe was always our first priority," they said.

Some of these employees could continue if they were cracked down and did not submit evidence of the vaccination - or if they were vaccinated before formal meetings about it, the company says.

United said it would abide by the rules set out in the trade union agreements on redundancies. The process can take weeks or months.

A further 2,000 employees demanded a release from the policy.

It has previously said it will release the temporary, unpaid leave from October 2. But those plans were shelved after a lawsuit was filed by six employees challenging the policy. Fiona Cincotta, a market analyst at the City Index, told the BBC Today program that the "strict" policy would not possibly be implemented by British airlines.

Like many companies in the aviation sector, United has been hit hard by pandemic-related travel restrictions. At the height of the crisis, it announced it needed up to 36,000 employees.

However, it declined that its vaccination policy would affect recruitment further, even if the vaccination is a condition for hiring new staff.

On Tuesday, it said it had received more than 20,000 applications for about 2,000 flight attendant jobs.

Elsewhere in the US, few airlines have introduced vaccine mandates for their staff. Delta Airlines, for example, has announced a $ 200 (£ 148) monthly health insurance supplement for those who have not stopped.