Eastern Airlines to Lay Off 1,500

Financially troubled Eastern Airlines will lay off 1,500 employees later this month as part of a $160-million cost-reduction program, airline officials said today. Eastern President Joseph B. Leonard said the layoffs will affect all employee groups.

Leonard said no immediate route reductions are planned. The layoffs--many of them at Eastern headquarters in Miami--will save $54 million a year. The company hopes to save the remaining $106 million through more efficiency and by reducing or eliminating a wide range of goods and services the carrier now purchases, Leonard said.