United Airlines warns it may furlough nearly 40 percent of its employees

Tens of thousands of United Airlines employees could be facing furloughs this fall, the company has warned.

United on Wednesday said it could furlough up to 36,000 workers beginning on Oct. 1, The New York Times reports. That's almost 40 percent of its staff, according to the Times. United previously received assistance under Congress' CARES Act, which stipulated that airlines can't lay off workers prior to the beginning of October, USA Today notes.

In a memo, United says that it's "increasingly likely that travel demand will not return to normal until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine" for COVID-19, especially after the "recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country," Axios reports. The company is reportedly expecting its capacity for August to be down 65 percent compared to the same time a year ago, according to Axios.

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"The reality is that United simply cannot continue at our current payroll level past October 1 in an environment where travel demand is so depressed," the memo also says.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun earlier this year predicted that due to the "grave" threat airlines are facing during the pandemic, it's "likely" at least one major U.S. carrier will go out of business, adding that after travel levels likely stay low through September, "there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines."