Airlines And Trump Admin. Haggle Over Payroll

April 11, 2020 4:09 am

Over airlines’ objections, the Trump administration is proposing that a big chunk of the federal aid designed to cover airlines payrolls this year will be loans, not cash. Airlines were expecting to share $25 billion in cash grants that Congress approved to help them keep employees on the job for the next six months. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wants the airlines to pay back some of the money. Airlines say they need cash to avoid massive layoffs because the coronavirus outbreak has wiped out most travel. The airlines and the Treasury Department are expected to keep negotiating over the weekend.