United Airlines is preparing to fire nearly 600 unvaccinated employees for failing to comply with the company’s vaccination policy.
In August, United announced its new mandate and gave domestic employees until Monday to show proof of vaccination. On Tuesday, the process of firing the 593 employees who refused to comply got underway.
The unvaccinated employees still have until their “formal termination meeting” to get the jab if they change their mind.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision but keeping our team safe has always been our first priority,” chief executive Scott Kirby and president Brett Hart wrote in a memo to employees.
According to Mediaite, however, when Kirby was asked by CNBC about the terminations, he was "decidedly cheerful" when he responded, "look, I’m really proud and gratified that the United team, excluding the people that have applied for religious or medical accommodation, over 99 percent got vaccinated. It proves that vaccine mandates do work, and that you can get a huge percentage of your workforce vaccinated.”
Less than 3 percent of United’s workforce received religious or medical exemptions. A plan to put those who received a religious exemption on unpaid, temporary leave was stalled due to a lawsuit challenging the plan.
Kirby added: “I feel bad for the 593 people, the less than one percent, that are going to leave. But we were focused on doing the right thing for United Airlines. And it’s great to have this in the rearview mirror for us and the ability to just move forward now.”
United does not believe their vaccine mandate will be a deterrent for those seeking employment at the company and cited the number of applications it received for various job openings.