United Airlines to Lay Off 593 Workers Who Refused Vaccines

On Wednesday, United Airlines announced that it will lay off 593 workers who chose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

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So far, over 99 percent of its 67,000 employees have already been vaccinated, but others remained reluctant to comply with the company's policy or requested an exemption.

“This is a historic achievement for our airline and our employees as well as for the customers and communities we serve,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said, adding that “Everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated.”

In early August, United Airlines asked its U.S.-based employees to get vaccinated in the next few weeks or face layoff. The company, however, did accept about 2,000 requests for exemption to the vaccine requirement due to health or religious motives.

The airline CEOs also appreciated the "public activism" of the employees who convinced others to get vaccinated and thus avoided possible hospitalizations or even deaths.

Tyson Foods, Walmart, and other big tech companies have also imposed mandatory vaccination policies. Unlike those, however, United Airlines has stricter protocols as it does not admit COVID-19 tests as an alternative to vaccination.

Other U.S. airlines have chosen to stay out of the controversy through alternative policies to mandatory vaccination. Delta Airlines, for example, has encouraged vaccination by raising the health insurance premium for those workers who voluntarily immunize themselves.