Southwest Airlines announced plans to offer buyouts and extended leave options to airport staff as a strategy to manage excess personnel in certain locations, attributing these measures to a shortage of new aircraft from Boeing. This decision comes amidst pressure from a hedge fund to improve profits and boost the company's stock price, which has seen a significant decline since early 2021.
The voluntary buyout proposal is limited to employees at 18 airports, although the company did not disclose specific locations or the number of positions targeted for reduction. Impacted roles are within ground operations, including customer service agents, baggage handlers, and cargo workers, but do not include pilots or flight attendants.
Southwest Airlines' management has previously stated an intention to reduce its workforce by 2,000 by the end of the year. The airline's employee count rose from 66,600 to nearly 75,000 last year.
The airline originally planned to add approximately 85 new Boeing 737 aircraft this year. However, production issues have reduced this number to just 20 planes. The production problems began following an incident in January when a cargo door fell off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max during a flight. Southwest's entire fleet consists of Boeing 737 models, including both the Max and older versions.
