GTAA cutting Pearson staff by 27% due to COVID-19

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has announced that it will slashing positions at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga. The job cuts are a result of the massive decrease in air traffic due to COVID-19.

The number of employees at the airport will be reduced by 27%. The GTAA will eliminate 200 unfilled positions, with 300 additional positions taking voluntary layoffs or permanent terminations.

“The reduction in force is a difficult but necessary step, and one that we take with great sadness,” said Deborah Flint, President and CEO of the GTAA.

Reductions start July 14, with additional terminations occurring through the fall. Employees will reportedly be given working notice and/or severance packages, along with career transition and employee assistance through a company program.

Termination packages for GTAA staff

In Canada, non-unionized employees at GTAA are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. Roles with the GTAA may include managers, coordinators, millwrights and airport workers.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

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WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

Employers sometimes use pressure tactics to try to coerce employees into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

However, in Canada, terminated employees have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.