United Airlines to cut 1,000 salaried jobs

More at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13321629/

To those who voted for Bush, you got what you deserved!

Fire the CEO, CFO, CIO, and refuse the golden parachute on these. Instead, pay them $150,000 a year. No more million dollar jobs. These are what causes problems, and restore ALL jobs that were cut or attrited, and restore the pension, etc.

Geez. It's time to nationalize the airlines and get them to stop being so fucking greedy.

but would you recommend that the Dallas Cowboys only pay players $150,000/yr? Where would you handicap their SuperBowl chances under such a scheme?

I agree *completely* that corporate salary structures are top-heavy, but just what kind of managerial talent does $150,000 buy for a company as big as UAL? Answer: bottom of the barrel talent.

Fresh out of bankruptcy, dealing with $70/bbl oil, and with a swarm of low-fare competitors, I'd say UAL needs the best talent, not the cheapest. As for restoring "ALL jobs that were cut" etc., it is never going to happen. Ever. In 2006, no airline can compete while carrying that load of cinder blocks.

As for nationalizing airlines, perhaps you prefer to fly on Sabena? Swiss Air? Oops. Nationalizing an airline is another way of saying that (nonflying) taxpayers subsidize flying passengers. Sounds like the opposite of progressive to me.

Nothing personal, JMHO.

Peace.

how about a novel formula contrary to the corporate greed pervasive in the airline industry in existence today? Why not follow Southwest's example

Put your employees first. Researchers agree that the best way to hire and keep top talent is to create a company culture where the best employees want to work, a culture in which people are treated with respect and consideration at all times.

A classic, big-business example of someone who used the power of respect is David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard. Packard always showed unfailing respect for everyone who worked for him. He defined the HP culture and positioned his company as an enduring preferred employer. He also exemplified the pacesetting leadership style by setting high performance standards for himself–and his employees followed suit.
Maximize your best employees. Although you may not be able to fill every position in your company even if you have a strong corporate culture, researchers say that one sure way to maximize your best employees is to place them in positions of great influence.

For example, when unemployment in the Washington, DC, area dropped below 2 percent, David Grissen, Marriott International's eastern region executive vice president, met with his managers and decided to focus the company's hiring efforts on front desk employees because of the enormous impact they have on hotel guests. The resulting "Front and Center" hiring initiative brought together managers of every Marriott hotel in the region to improve the company's recruiting, selection and orientation programs for front desk positions. Potential employees for these positions must now undergo a minimum of four interviews and achieve a high score on a standardized evaluation metric.
Stay involved and use emotional intelligence. Research indicates that one of the worst employment moves a small-business owner can make is disengaging from the hiring process. After all, it's your culture, your company and your leadership–why allow someone else to make your hiring choices?

And when you're in the process of hiring a new employee, remember to carefully assess your applicants' emotional intelligence (EI) along with their intellectual capability. Research shows that an IQ assessment doesn't predict job success nearly as accurately when used alone as it does when combined with assessments of the cognitive and social abilities that comprise someone's emotional intelligence. An EI evaluation offers a strong indication of how well an applicant may fit into your organization.
Staying flexible is also important. If an employee you hire proves to be a good fit for your company but not for the specific position filled, try moving them to another position that capitalizes on their strengths and experience. Employees who are a good fit organizationally can be hard to find.
While there's no guarantee that putting your employees first, maximizing your best workers, staying involved and assessing emotional intelligence during the hiring process will fill every open position in your company, solid research of the top 10 percent of U.S. companies clearly indicates that it's the most successful way to go.
Paul Sarvadi is the "Human Resources" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is chairman of the board, CEO and co-founder of Administaff, one of the nation's leading Professional Employer Organizations (PEO), which serves as an outsourced full-service human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States.
Copyright 2005 Entrepreneur.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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from a former Aviation Maintenance Technology Major in college who drank your kool-Aid who spent $$$ in hopes of becoming A&P Mechanic only to see you back out of your deal to ad more jobs to your government funded Maintenance hud in Indianapolis.