The question one has to ask here is: will the CEO or the top executives of American Airlines lose any money from THEIR retirements because of the bankruptcy? Or will a bankruptcy also include the provision that all top management and the entire board resign? Of course, the answer to both question is no but workers are going to face a much tougher retirement:

The parent of American Airlines had been trying to renegotiate pay and work rules for pilots in the weeks before Tuesday’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Now, pension benefits could be at risk.

AMR Corp. has about $8.3 billion in assets to cover $18.5 billion in pension benefits owed to active and retired employees, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the federal agency that insures pensions. Pension plans covering about 130,000 people, including 69,000 active employees, could be among the obligations on the chopping block as AMR goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

   Austerity comes in many forms.