According to an internal correspondence, American Airlines will cut 30 percent of its management and administrative positions, or around 5,000 jobs, at the carrier tries to reduce costs because of the ill effects of the global health crisis on the aviation business.

United also proposes voluntary buy-outs around June 10 in an additional effort to rein in costs as the group sheds millions of dollars running fewer flights on a daily basis.

Though the carrier was granted government stimulus to help mitigate the impact from the crisis, executive vice president for global engagement Elise Eberwein said in an email to staff, and as reported by CBS News, that they need to cut their cost structure, "including our most significant expense - the cost of compensation and benefits."

The executive pointed out that in the near future, the company "must plan for operating a smaller airline." The move comes as all major US carriers brace for a restructuring or initiate job cuts due to the pandemic despite government payroll assistance that effectively prohibits involuntary job terminations until September 30.

Rival carrier, United Airlines, has also stated that it will need to slash its administrative staff by around 30 percent. Once American Airlines has trimmed down its management the memo said it will turn to its pilots, flight attendants, and other frontline personnel. They will be given options for voluntary leave or even early retirement so that American will not have to take furloughs. The airline disclosed that almost 40,000 workers have already chosen to leave or retire.

American Airlines and other carriers are rushing to reduce operational expenses as a result of the pandemic's crippling effect on global travel demand, which has forced companies to report their first major losses in many years.

As more customers travel albeit in limited volume in recent weeks, demand is still down over 80 percent compared from the same period last year.

Airlines have continued to report huge losses since the demand for travel collapsed as the pandemic spread across the world, infecting almost 6 million people and claimed the lives of over 355,000, data from Johns Hopkins showed. Airline executives revealed it may take many years for the aviation sector to normalize.

Determining the size of its workforce in the near future will be difficult as companies will be trying to rebound into next year. American Airlines will operate less in October than it will in the summer next year, chief financial officer Derek Kerr divulged.