American Air to Lay Off 656 as It Consolidates Customer Support

American Airlines Group Inc. will lay off 656 employees who help passengers with lost luggage and other travel problems as their jobs are consolidated into other teams.

The change will affect 335 employees in Phoenix and 321 in Dallas-Fort Worth who work on American’s customer relations, central baggage resolution and AAdvantage loyalty program service groups, the carrier said Monday. That’s 8.2% of about 8,000 employees charged with resolving customer problems.

Some of the workers’ responsibilities will be moved to a new, smaller “Customer Success” team that will be split between Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth. This team will aid travelers with ...