JAL: How low can you go?

It's almost painful to watch. JAL's net worth just hit negative one trillion yen. That's ￥-1,000,000,000,000. It's gotten so bad that pilot trainees are being asked to work as ground staff or settle for retirement benefits (how's that for quick retirement - pilot school, then oops, time to call it quits).

I used to know a girl who went to work for JAL. When I read these articles, I something think about her and wonder if she still has a job. Tough times.

I'm usually pretty indifferent about companies struggling or going belly up, but I've had some good experiences with JAL (and ANA, too). Don't know how good their chances are of turning things around, but I wish them well.

Read more about this story over at the Japan Times.