Air Canada is cutting about one per cent of its workforce — roughly 400 non-union management positions — following an internal review aimed at improving efficiency. The airline said the reductions will not affect daily operations and are part of routine efforts to optimize resources. The decision comes as Canada’s largest airline continues to balance cost pressures, labour tensions, and renewed competition.

The announcement coincided with Air Canada’s major expansion at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport, where it will add 10 new daily U.S. flights to New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., plus additional domestic routes to Montreal and Ottawa. The move intensifies competition with Porter Airlines, which dominates Billy Bishop’s U.S. routes.

The job cuts also follow labour unrest earlier this year, when more than 10,000 unionized flight attendants went on strike, grounding flights and costing Air Canada an estimated $375 million in operating income. The airline continues to face a slower recovery in U.S.-bound travel and broader turbulence in the Canadian job market, where many large employers — from banks to airlines — are tightening operations amid economic uncertainty and cost-cutting pressures.

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Nick Logan’s original article, “Air Canada makes 'difficult decision' to cut management jobs” was published in CBC News on October 23, 2025. Read the Full CBC News story.

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