CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines said Tuesday it will lay off its staff of meteorologists and outsource those positions as the carrier continues restructuring to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

About 20 meteorologists work for the company, most of them in Chicago, United spokeswoman Jean Medina said. She said the airline had notified the Transport Workers Union of America about the layoffs, which likely would happen in the fall.

The move is part of United's efforts to be "sustainable and viable going forward," she said.

The head of the meteorologists' union local did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday night.

United's parent company, Elk Grove Village-based UAL Corp., said last week that it would submit its formal plan for exiting bankruptcy in the fall to a judge next month.

The carrier has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for 2 1/4 years.

In its most recent financial results, UAL reported a net loss of $93 million in May, attributable largely to higher fuel costs. The company had an operating loss of $21 million for the month, blaming the deficit mostly on fuel expenses that exceeded the May 2004 total by $93 million. Had fuel costs remained unchanged, the company would have broken even for the month on a net basis.

The results included $36 million in reorganization expenses as the company continued the bankruptcy overhaul it began in December 2002.