Air Canada cutting 1,700 jobs amid second wave regulations

"We regret the impact these difficult decisions will have on our employees who have worked very hard during the pandemic looking after our customers, as well as on the affected communities," said the company's vice president, Lucie Guillemette, in a statement.

Guillemette noted that new travel restrictions by both the federal and provincial governments have hurt Air Canada's revenue.

The company is looking at scaling down to just 20 percent of their capacity, compared to the first quarter of 2019. The reduction will also affect 200 employees at Air Canada's Express carriers, reports CTV News.

Air Canada also recently cut services around the Maritime provinces, including suspending flights to Gander, NL, Goose Bay, NL, and Fredericton, NB until January 23.