In a first for Southwest, the company will lay off 15% of its corporate workforce.
There will be 1,750 people who will be laid off including senior leadership such as vice presidents and higher, CNN reported.
Eleven senior leadership jobs will be lost, but it won’t affect pilots and flight attendants, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The layoffs will take effect in April and should be complete by the end of June, CNN and The Associated Press reported.
Until the layoffs take effect, those impacted will get their salaries, benefits and bonuses, The Wall Street Journal said.
It will save the company a reported $210 million in 2025 and $300 million in 2026.
At the same time, it will cost Southwest between $60 million and $80 million for items such as severance packages.
CEO Bob Jordan said, “As we continue to work together to transform our Company, an area of intense focus will be maximizing efficiencies and minimizing costs.” He called it “a very difficult and monumental shift,” CNN reported.
This is not the first time the company tried to lower its workforce.
Southwest offered buyouts and extended leave of absence to customer service agents, baggage handlers and cargo workers to avoid “overstaffing in certain locations, the AP reported.
“We must ensure we fund the right work, reduce duplicative efforts, and have a lean organizational structure that drives clarity, pace, and urgency,” Jordan told employees, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Another change Southwest will be embarking on is assigning seats and selling the rows that have extra legroom, as more traditional carriers do, according to the newspaper. It also started red-eye flights this month, to bring in more money.
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