Unvaccinated United Airlines Staff Cut In Half After Company Threatened To Fire Them
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Nearly half of the United Airlines employees who were facing the prospect of being fired for refusing to get vaccinated have gotten their shots, with 320 workers still facing termination for missing the company's vaccination deadline.
Chicago-based United had given employees until Monday to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and earlier this week said 593 who had not gotten their shots by the deadline would be fired.
On Thursday, the company said that number has nearly been cut in half, with the number of employees facing termination over their vaccination status dropping to 320, largely due to late uploads of vaccination cards.
"That means 99.5 percent of United's U.S. employees have now chosen to get vaccinated, excluding those who sought an exemption," a United spokesperson said in an email.
The company said it expects the number of employees facing termination to continue to shrink as management meets with individual staff "and find that they are actually vaccinated."