United asks pilots to take unpaid time off, citing Boeing's delayed aircraft

All we ever hear about is pilot shortage is imminent, pilot shortage is upon us etc...

Anyone have any more quantitative details on this article (how many pilots, how long etc..) How is United about to give unpaid time off instead of temp. Layoff or something ?

I'm an outsider generally asking people with more experience than me. Seems like a bad business move all around.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/01/united-asks-pilots-to-take-unpaid-time-off-citing-boeing-delays.html