Chicago ? United Airlines said Wednesday that further job cuts would be necessary as it continued slashing costs in order to get out of bankruptcy.

The No. 2 U.S. airline declined to confirm or deny a published report that it is considering eliminating 6,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force, saying its business plan remains under revision.

United spokeswoman Jean Medina said the carrier was in “productive” discussions with its board of directors, creditors committee, labor leaders and other key stakeholders, and said job cuts would be part of the overhauled business plan.

“We’ve said consistently we’re moving forward on a wide range of cost-reduction initiatives and we’ve set some initial cost-saving targets in a number of areas,” she said.

The Financial Times, citing unidentified sources, said the possible 6,000 job cuts would be phased in over time as part of productivity changes and further outsourcing.