P.M. BRIEFING : United Employees Face 10% Pay Cut

Most of United Airlines’ 24,000 non-union employees face a 10% pay cut if the $6.75-billion employee buyout of parent UAL Corp. goes through as planned, it was reported today.

The Chicago Sun-Times, quoting an unidentified adviser to the buyout group, said the pay cut will apply to managers and most salaried workers. The lowest-paid clerical workers will not be affected, nor will employees in one or two fields requiring highly specialized skills and training since those workers could easily find comparable jobs with another airline, the newspaper said.

The buyout plan, which would make UAL the biggest employee-owned U.S. company, calls for employees to own 75% with management owning 10% and British Airways PLC holding 15%. The pilots have already said they would take pay cuts of up to 10% as part of the plan.