Building A Strong Foundation For The Future
American Airlines and American Eagle employees are the lifeblood of our company. They drive our operations, engage our customers, inspire our creative energies, and proudly represent our airline in hundreds of locations around the world. That's why one of our strategic objectives is our firm commitment to be a Good Place for Good People. This commitment means we will devote ourselves to creating a positive, inclusive work environment where our employees can thrive and develop — both professionally and personally.
We know firsthand that creating a Good Place for Good People is no small task. Over the past few years, we have struggled with a cost structure that has put us at a severe competitive disadvantage compared to our peers. A significant part of our costs are employee-related, and thus we will be making difficult decisions in 2012 as we move through the restructuring process to restore American to industry leadership, profitability and growth. Our aim is to navigate through this process successfully so that we can revitalize our airline and create a brighter future for everyone at American.
Highlights from our employee initiatives in 2011 include:
Reorganization
Important changes to American's organizational structure are taking place through our reorganization efforts, initiated in November 2011. These changes will include major restructuring of our cost and debt structures, as well as our workforce fundamentals.
Change will be difficult, particularly as we will be ending this process with fewer people, but we will be preserving tens of thousands of jobs and ensuring American's ability to compete and win.
To ensure that employee performance is rewarded and aligned with American's future success, we plan to put in place a profit-sharing plan that, beginning with the first dollar of pre-tax income, would pay awards totaling 15 percent of all pre-tax income.
Solid Performance On Employee Safety Management
American ended 2011 with strong safety performance results, including a 13 percent year-over-year reduction in employee injuries, and no repeat OSHA citations for the year.
We reengineered Partnership for Safety, our flagship employee safety management system, to reflect our evolving approach to safety integration. We strengthened our external relationships with OSHA and other partners and established provisions for greater clarity around safety oversight.
Continued Investment In Employee Development
Our LIFT leadership training program completed a second successful year with training for Level 3 and 4 Airport Services personnel.
American Airlines has been rated one of the 20 best companies for Leadership Development Programs in large corporations by Leadership Excellence Magazine.
We have completed a third edition of our Value Respect diversity training program, which includes both online and in-person learning experiences relating to non-discrimination, inclusion and company diversity policies.
Excellence In Diversity And Inclusion Performance
We received a 100 percent Corporate Equality Index rating from Human Rights Campaign (HRC), marking the 10th consecutive year of achieving a perfect score since the inception of the index in 2002. Employers with a rating of 100 percent are recognized as "Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality."
We were recognized for exceptional performance with regard to diversity and inclusion by many external organizations, including Black Enterprise, Equal Opportunity Magazine and Diversity MBA Magazine. View our full list of 2011 Diversity awards.
For the third consecutive year, our AMR Diversity Advisory Council was recognized as one of the Top 25 Diversity Councils in the Country for 2011. The Diversity Council Honors Award recognizes the outstanding contributions and achievements of employee Diversity Advisory Council members who actively promote diversity and inclusion in their company.
2011 Diversity Leader Award - This award is given to organizations that share their stories with readers on a regular basis and offer profiles of their thought leaders. American Airlines is recognized as an organization that demonstrates its continued commitment toward diverse culture through its ongoing communications with Profiles in Diversity Journal.