Southwest Airlines Announces Job and Service Cuts in Atlanta

Southwest Airlines has turned to flight cuts, and by extension, job cuts in Atlanta. Around 300 pilots and flight attendants are expected to be impacted by the Southwest Airlines reductions plans next year. The changes were announced in a company memo that was circulated to employees, coming a day before Southwest’s investor day where further discussions on their future strategy are expected to take place. 

Southwest is cutting flights to reduce losses but the company has asserted that it will not eliminate the crew base at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport entirely.

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Southwest Airlines Announces Job Cuts in Atlanta

Southwest Airlines’ Atlanta service cuts will involve reducing the number of gates at the airport from 18 down to 11. It will continue to service 21 cities out of Atlanta and around 300 employees will be affected by the change. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 that represents the flight attendants revealed that the individuals it represents will not be laid off but will instead have the opportunity to relocate to a different region. 

Southwest Airlines’ plans of reducing staff won’t go into effect for at least 6 months, so the pilots and flight attendants have a few months of planning ahead of them before changes are enforced. Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines had hinted at reductions with the assessment that it might end the year with 2,000 fewer employees. The company also decided to stop flying to 4 airports earlier this year according to APNews—Cozumel in Mexico; Syracuse, New York; Bellingham, Washington; and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

“Southwest Airlines management is failing employees while impacting customers,” Bill Bernal, the union president of the flight attendants, told CNBC. “Management continues to make decisions that lack full transparency, sufficient communication with Union leadership, and most alarmingly, a lack of focus on what has made the airline great, the employees.

Southwest Cuts Flights to Reduce Losses

Southwest’s top activist investor Elliott Investment Management has reportedly been putting pressure on the organization to look into an executive shake-up, especially communicating their intention to replace CEO Robert Jordan and Executive Chairman Gary Kelly. Kelly has already announced plans to step down in 2025, but Elliott is pushing for immediate, widespread changes. The investors have also proposed a 10-director slate of executives that is expected to be a critical point of discussion during the meeting.

Among other things, the investor meeting will focus on plans to slash costs and increase revenue for the organization. “We continue to optimize our network to meet customer demand, best utilize our fleet, and maximize revenue opportunities,” Southwest told USA Today. “Decisions like these are difficult for our company because of the effects on our people, but we have a history of more than 53 years of ensuring they are taken care of.”

Southwest Airlines’ job cuts in Atlanta are an amalgamation of many different issues that have affected the airline industry and the company in particular. The company is reportedly being confronted by changes in booking patterns and changing customer preferences. There is also the issue of delayed supplies of planes from Boeing, the company that is far behind on its promise to deliver its 737 Max 7 airplanes. Boeing is caught up with its own production issues and protesting workers.

While there has been some good news for flight attendants of American Airlines and the deal their union was able to strike with their employer, the rest of the industry has been in quite a furore for one reason or another. 

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