AIRLINES

American Airlines to Cut 5,000 More Jobs: The nation’s largest airline will also retire more jets over the next 16 months in an effort to reduce labor costs. Robert L. Crandall, the carrier’s chairman and chief executive, made the announcement one day after pilots offered their proposal to turn the struggling carrier around by de-emphasizing its hub-and-spoke network of flights and getting more use from jets. Crandall told Wall Street analysts and reporters to underline his assertion that unless unions agree to reduce wages and loosen work rules, the airline will continue to shrink and jobs will continue to be lost. “After 10 years of providing new jobs for tens of thousands of people, we hate having to let employees go. Nonetheless, if we cannot deploy the planes profitably, we cannot justify flying them,” Crandall said.