Actually what O'Leary said was 1,000 NEW jobs.
That sounds even better, doesn't it!
But I have it on very good authority that his promise of 1,000 jobs was queried by the large shareholders, and he told them "Yes, I will create 1,000 new jobs - after I fire 2,000 old ones".
His promise to 'respect the Unions' was also queried.
To this he responded - "I will respect the unions, until the takeover phase is completed. Then they are out of here".
Everything the guy says is spin. You need to double think him every time.
By the way, he didn't beat around the bush when those questions were asked in private meetings. He was quite bare faced and forthright.