"Southwest Airlines warns of more than 6,000 job cuts"

" \n On Thursday, thousands of pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, and customer service agents working for Southwest airlines received warnings that they may be furloughed come spring. \n \n\n \n The carrier expressed that it still hopes to avoid layoffs if unions are prepared to agree to the pay cuts it has requested. \n \n\n \n Southwest Airlines , previously priding itself in not having laid off a single employee because of the crisis, on Thursday warned over 6,800 employees they might be furloughed in spring 2021. \n \n\n \n Depending on the workgroup, this could be anywhere between March 15th and April 1st, the\u00a0 Dallas Morning News \u00a0reports. \n \n\n \n Door not closed but up to unions \n \n\n \n According to CNN , the numbers are made up of 2,551 ground crew, 1,176 service agents, 1,500 flight attendants, and 1,221 pilots. \n \n\n \n These would be the first layoffs in Southwest\u2019s half-a-century long history and amount to over 10% of the airline\u2019s current workforce. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe are not closing the door \u2014 we\u2019ll continue negotiations if union representatives want to continue working toward reaching mutually agreeable solutions,\u201d the carrier said in an internal memo to staff seen by the news outlet. \n \n\n \n The airline has asked the unions representing 83% of its workforce to agree to a 10% pay cut to avoid the massive furloughs come spring. \n \n\n \n Deals have thus far been concluded with the airline\u2019s meteorologist and dispatcher unions. However, the remaining labor groups are yet to comply with the terms, prompting Thursday\u2019s large-scale warnings. \n \n\n \n These would be the first mass layoffs in Southwest\u2019s history. Photo: Getty Images \n \n\n \n CEO base salary zero for 2021 \n \n\n \n Non-unionized workers have already taken similar pay cuts, and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly has trimmed his base salary down to zero for next year. \n \n\n \n Other leadership group members have seen their base pays cut by 10% for the same time period. However, the aim has been to finalize cost-saving measures across all employee categories by January 1st. \n \n\n \n Southwest has previously warned over 400 employees in its mechanics, technicians, and maintenance workgroups. \n \n\n \n Furloughs could still be avoided if unions agree to cut salaries. Photo: Getty Images \n \n\n \n Early warnings to put pressure on negotiations? \n \n\n \n Companies are required by law to issue WARN notices 60 to 90 days before any planned mass furloughs. \n \n\n \n The layoffs are not certain, but the warnings, issued earlier than required, may also be a way of exercising pressure on the stalled union negotiations. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe have been engaged with our unions since early October seeking temporary cost reductions to help offset over one billion dollars of overstaffing costs projected for 2021,\u201d Russell McCrady, Southwest\u2019s vice president of labor relations, told the Dallas Morning News. \n \n\n \n \u201cOur 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,\u201d Mr McCrady continued. \n \n\n \n Simple Flying has reached out to Southwest for further comment on the news but was yet to receive a reply at the time of publication. \n "

"Southwest Airlines warns of more than 6,000 job cuts"

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