United Continental Holdings, Inc. will be stopping its practice of outsourcing jobs at 39 U.S. airports until the end of 2016, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The airline said that the move is a response to employees' concerns regarding job security.
The Wall Street Journal adds that United has been outsourcing airport jobs since 2013 to third party vendors.
They are outsourcing to vendors who are able to perform the duties at lower costs.
The Wall Street Journal adds that Jon Roitman, the senior vice president of airport operations at United, said in a message to employees that the move addresses their employees' concerns.
He promises that they won't be outsourcing additional front-line positions until the labor contracts with the International Association of Machinists are open for renewal at the end of 2016.
The Wall Street Journal adds that United has eliminated about 2,300 jobs because of its outsourcing activities.
Some employees, though, who have suitable seniority, were able to transfer to other locations.
United also said that an additional 16 other airports, that could have been targeted for job cuts, are safe for now, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The airline also said that the labor contract with the Machinists currently exempts 23 busier airports and seven domestic hubs from the job cuts.
Reuters adds that Oscar Munoz, who became CEO of United on September, solicited feedbacks from employees on how to improve the airline.
Munoz, though, is currently on leave due to a heart attack he suffered on October 15, 2015. Brett Hart, the general counsel of the company, was named as acting CEO last week.
Reuters adds that the moratorium is not yet indefinite as Roitman said in the note that "it's impossible to know what the airline environment will be three-five years."
It is not clear though how many jobs the airline intends to outsource before issuing the moratorium.
