United Airlines on Wednesday announced it was preparing to issue notifications of possible furloughs to 36,000 US frontline workers, or around 45 percent of its headcount, as travel demand is heavily impacted by the ongoing global health crisis. The news sent the airline's shares plummeting 7.6 percent to $32.58 at the close, Tuesday. 

However, United Airlines said not everyone who receives a notice will be furloughed, with the final figure based on how demand plays out, and how many workers accept early retirement packages and temporary leaves.

The furloughs are set to commence on Oct. 1, when a government-ordered restriction on compulsory employment cuts by airlines that have been granted billions of dollars in government payroll assistance expires.

In a recent presentation, United Airlines told staff that new bookings started to drop just as soon as New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York announced they would need people coming from states with COVID-19 increases to isolate for 14 days.

Specifically, short-term travel bookings over the next 30 days started to plunge following months of steady rebound. The presentation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and was disclosed by United, Tuesday.

The fall was most serious at the New York City area hub of the airline in Newark, New Jersey, where near-term net bookings were just 16 percent of the previous year's rates - down from about a third shortly before the tri-state quarantine order was issued. The decrease in demand also coincides with when airlines are supposed to start notifying furloughs and layoffs of workers in large part.

Company executives pointed out that the 36,000 figure was a worst-case scenario and that they are still optimistic that United can hold back some of the layoffs by offering early retirement to qualifying employees.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the job cuts will affect around 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate employees, 5,500 maintenance staff, and 2,250 pilots. In addition to the work cuts, United is also looking into letting go of 1,300 management and support personnel. Including its international workforce, United employs 95,000 workers.

The job cuts at the airline are the latest in a long string of hits the aviation sector has been taking since the start of the pandemic.  Between early March to mid-April, air traffic decreased by 95 percent. The industry started to stabilize gradually by the end of April, but the total number of US air passengers is still down 70 percent compared to the same time last year.