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Air Wisconsin Facing Likely Layoffs Amid Strategy Shift

American Eagle
Credit: Air Wisconsin

Shortly after announcing changes to its partnership with American Airlines, Air Wisconsin is preparing for layoffs.

The carrier is moving away from a regional airline partner relationship with the mainline carrier and into a codeshare and interline agreement. Expecting to announce “alternative opportunities” within the coming weeks as part of a strategy pivot, its capacity purchase agreement with American ends on April 3.

“It is likely that the company’s strategy will involve some level of company-wide workforce reductions, although at this point, the company is unable to assess the extent of those reductions,” Air Wisconsin wrote in a Jan. 30 notice pertaining to its operations in Milwaukee and Appleton, Wisconsin. Layoffs could begin as soon as March 31, it says, with reductions expected to be temporary for union-represented employees and permanent for management and salaried positions.

The carrier places layoff estimates at approximately 513 employees, of which 294 are union/represented employees in the state of Wisconsin. Attached to its notice is a list of job titles that will be affected by the cuts, including some pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, as well as the CFO and president/CEO roles. By the end of 2023, Air Wisconsin had 1,069 employees, of which 779 were represented by unions, according to a filing from parent company Harbor Diversified.

“The duration of the reduction is unknown and will be dependent on alternative flying opportunities,” Air Wisconsin writes in its notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The airline has operated as American Eagle since March 2023, under a five-year capacity purchase agreement it signed with American in August 2022. In November 2024, the two entered into a codeshare and interline agreement “with the expectation that Air Wisconsin will operate certain federally subsidized [Essential Air Service] EAS markets,” providing service, if selected, with its Bombardier CRJ fleet. The carrier’s “strategic realignment” was announced on Jan. 10, detailing intent to focus on EAS and charter operations. It noted growing demand for the latter, particularly from NCAA collegiate sports teams.

Air Wisconsin operates an in-service fleet of 35 CRJ-200s, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database, with an additional four parked and 24 stored.

Christine Boynton

Christine Boynton is a Senior Editor covering air transport in the Americas for Aviation Week Network.