USAir to Lay Off Another 2,100 Workers : Airlines: The move follows the firing of 1,500 others earlier in the week. The carrier blames lower passenger demand and rising fuel costs.

USAir Group said Friday that it will dismiss 2,100 employees in yet another round of cutbacks at the parent of Arlington, Va.-based USAir.

Edwin I. Colodny, USAir’s chairman and chief executive, said the cuts “take into account the softening of passenger demand, poor economic conditions, escalating fuel costs and the company’s need to reduce operating costs.”

Earlier in the week, USAir said it was firing 1,500 who had been hired in anticipation of an expansion program that has since been scaled back. Many of those employees had worked for the airline less than six months.

In addition, the airline previously announced plans to dismiss 211 pilots.

Taken together, the cutbacks will reduce USAir’s work force by just over 7% to about 50,200 from 54,000. The airline didn’t say in which cities the cuts would take place but said they will include 650 flight attendants and 2,100 reservation, customer and fleet service agents. The airline will also eliminate 500 management positions.

Most U.S. airlines have been hurt by a decline in summer travel and by the sharp rise in jet fuel prices that followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. USAir has also had problems with lost baggage and late flights following the merger of Piedmont Aviation into its system. The merger became final a year ago on the heels of USAir’s April, 1988, acquisition of Pacific Southwest Airlines.

USAir has been losing money overall. In this year’s second quarter, it lost $75.1 million, contrasted with a $100.7-million profit in the second quarter a year ago.

Adding to the airline’s trouble is intense competition in California, where rivals United, American and Delta airlines have challenged its dominance with stepped up flight schedules and fare wars. Industry sources say each of the four airlines is losing around $1 million a month in the California air corridor between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

USAir is having particular problems in the markets where it is forced to compete against Southwest Airlines, a low fare, no-frills carrier. A source familiar with the airline said some USAir flights to Oakland from Burbank are virtually empty, and most planes on those flights are less than half full.

USAir spokesman Larry Pickett said he could not disclose details of the airline’s performance in California for competitive reasons. “We are doing pretty well, considering the nature of the competition.” Pickett said the airline “has a strong commitment to California.”

Industry analysts speculated that USAir might reduce its presence in California as a result of its cost-cutting efforts. “I think it is possible that a number of markets are under review and that the West Coast is one of them,” said Paul Karos, an airline industry analyst with First Boston Co. in New York.

The airline is also expected to reduce the size of its fleet, possibly by retiring older aircraft ahead of schedule or by delaying options to buy new planes.