American Airlines parent AMR Corp. Wednesday said it will seek to cut 13,000 jobs and terminate pensions in pursuit of $2 billion in annual costs savings, tipping its hand for the first time in what could be a long and painful bankruptcy proceeding.

The company said it wants to reduce labor costs by $1.25 billion a year, or 20%. That includes cutting its work force of 88,000 by nearly 15%, imposing new productivity measures and outsourcing some work. The company also aims to terminate its four underfunded pension plans, a...