99.5% of United employees have now complied with the vaccine mandate
Of United's 67,000 U.S.-based employees, only 320 of them haven't complied with the airline's vaccine mandate.
On Thursday, the Chicago-based carrier shared an update on its vaccine requirement that officially went into effect on Monday, Sept. 27.
As it began the process of terminating the employment of 593 workers who failed to upload their vaccination cards or request an exemption by Monday, it found that 273 of them were either already vaccinated or immediately getting vaccinated.
According to a United spokesperson, the airline is working "with folks on a case-by-case basis, but if they are getting vaccinated, they'll be welcomed back."
That leaves 320 U.S.-based employees who haven't been vaccinated, requested an exemption or uploaded their vaccine card by the deadline. United will continue the separation process with those workers. If it finds that these employees were indeed vaccinated before the deadline or are immediately getting the shot, then they can remain with the company.
In a statement shared with TPG, an airline spokesperson wrote:
Our vaccine policy continues to prove requirements work — in less than 48 hours, the number of unvaccinated employees who began the process of being separated from the company has been cut almost in half, dropping from 593 to 320. That means 99.5 percent of United's U.S. employees have now chosen to get vaccinated, excluding those who sought an exemption.
Employees who submitted for a medical or religious exemption would be placed on an unpaid leave, but the deadline for that has been extended due to pending litigation, CEO Scott Kirby said in a memo to employees viewed by TPG.
More: United doubles down on vaccine requirement with stringent policy for religious exemptions
"We want to start by thanking the tens of thousands of employees who got their shot," Kirby and airline president Brett Hart wrote in a memo sent to the airline's workforce on Tuesday. "We know for some, that decision was a reluctant one. But there's no doubt in our minds that some of you will have avoided a future hospital stay — or even death — because you got vaccinated."
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