April 5, 2010
In an effort to improve American’s customer service and dependability, the Maintenance & Engineering department announced today it would move the Maintenance Operations Center (MOC) from Tulsa, Okla. to Dallas/Ft. Worth. The MOC works closely with the System Operations Control (SOC), with which it will be housed in Dallas.
We recognize this is a significant change for our MOC employees and will work hard to make the move as seamless as possible. American will be working with the Transport Workers Union to determine relocation options for our employees as we conduct this change during the next two years.
We know that rumors have been circulating. In view of that, we wanted to provide you with a definitive answer, as we formally begin planning this move.
This has been a difficult decision, but one we believe will improve our productivity, reliability, and the communications between SOC and MOC.
Co-locating SOC and MOC will allow us to provide better customer service and focus on improving our on-time performance.
We are going to depend on our employees to help make decisions about the relocation. You are the most familiar with what these jobs entail and what could be done to improve our productivity.
We are examining other airlines, such as Delta and United, which use an integrated SOC/MOC approach, and are studying how they implemented similar changes.
We expect approximately 200 positions in all work groups to be affected. We will work with the TWU on relocation options for the TWU-represented employees.
This change will be made in phases during the next two years. We will keep you updated as more details are finalized.