Southwest Airlines Is Firing Nearly 1,800 Employees Beginning April 22

Southwest Airlines employees are under the proverbial gun, as the company has announced that nearly 1,800 employees will soon be getting the axe.

Newsweek reports that the discount airline will terminate 1,750 employees beginning April 22 of this year. This move marks the first time that the company has engaged in mass firings. The cuts, focused in Dallas, affect around 15% of the airline’s corporate and leadership workforce and come after a series of cost-cutting initiatives aimed at reversing financial strain.

Although the 1,750 layoffs represent only around 2.5% of the company’s overall staff, the announcement departs from the company’s long-standing policy of avoiding involuntary job cutbacks, according to former Southwest Airlines spokesperson Ed Stewart.

The changes are expected to be permanent and will mostly affect corporate positions at Southwest’s headquarters and maintenance facility on Shorecrest Drive in Dallas, where the airline is based.

“This decision is unprecedented in our 53-year history,” Southwest President and CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement to the outlet.

“We are building a leaner organization with increased clarity regarding what is most important, quicker decision making, and a focus on getting the right things done with urgency — not unlike our entrepreneurial founding spirit of the 1970s,” he added.

Southwest Airlines First Announced These Firings in February

When the cuts were first announced by Southwest Airlines back in February, executives believed that they were doing so as part of cost-cutting measures.

The layoffs will save Southwest more than $500 million over the next two years. Costs associated with job losses, including severance benefits, will total between $60 million and $80 million.

In addition to layoffs, Southwest has suspended hiring and its internship program. Future team-building “rallies,” a 40-year tradition at the company, have been postponed, and unproductive routes have been eliminated.

Making such a decision was unusual for Southwest, which boasted in 2021 that the airline had never cut jobs since its inception. However, layoffs occurred when the firm removed 300 pilots and flight attendants from its roster late last year.

The employment losses are part of a bigger strategy to increase earnings. After doing business in the same way for 50 years, Southwest Airlines adopted a risky plan to increase its market share. According to Jordan, today’s travelers have changed their traveling habits, and it’s time for airlines to adapt.