The largest airline in the US, Southwest Airlines, has announced that it is planning to lay off at least 6,800 workers. This will be the first involuntary job cuts in the 49-year long history of the carrier.
The notices were sent to several pilots, flight attendants and ground operations staff.
Jon Weaks, the head of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said, “Today marks a sad milestone in the history of Southwest Airlines”.
Southwest has been in talks with unions since early October about pay cuts and other cost savings to help offset billion dollars in “overstaffing costs” projected next year due to the low travel demand from the pandemic.
The layoffs will take place in March or early April unless the airline is able to come to a cost-saving agreement with the unions or the federal government enacts an extension of the payroll support program.
“Our absolute goal is to preserve every job at Southwest Airlines; however, due to a lack of meaningful progress in negotiations, we had to proceed with issuing notifications to additional employees who are valued members of the Southwest family,” Russell McCrady, vice president of labor relations said in a statement. “We are willing to continue negotiations quickly to preserve jobs if we can achieve the support that allows Southwest to combat the ongoing economic challenges created by the decline in demand for air travel.”
This announcement comes after American Airlines and United Airlines recently announced layoffs of thousands of employees.
Komal is an English literature student with a keen interest in economic developments and politics amongst others. She is a part of Research & Content team at HrNxt.com