thestar.com

Air Canada says that during the next three months it will cut 220 pilots, 440 flight attendants, 1,390 mechanics and ramp workers, including baggage handlers, 425 ticket agents, 265 managers and clerks, and 120 people who work overseas.

Besides the layoffs, the airline said it will save money by moving its headquarters from downtown Montreal to Dorval airport and by closing its Halifax maintenance base.

The financial crunch affecting the airline is caused in large part by the higher cost of aviation fuel due to the war scare in the Middle East. The airline says each $1 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil costs it $14 million a year, and crude has gone up $13 a barrel in the past five weeks.