Southwest Airlines is cutting 1,750 jobs, marking the first major layoffs in its 53-year history. The Dallas-based airline announced Monday that the reductions will primarily affect corporate overhead and leadership roles, including 11 senior leadership positions.
CEO Bob Jordan stated that the cuts, expected to be finalized by June, are part of an effort to create a “leaner, faster, and more agile organization.” The company anticipates saving $210 million in 2025 and approximately $300 million in 2026.
Last November, Southwest attempted to avoid overstaffing by offering buyouts and extended leaves of absence to airport workers. However, financial pressure has continued, particularly from hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, which has pushed for improved profitability and a stronger stock performance.
Southwest shares have declined 9.9% this year, and while the airline reached an agreement with Elliott in October to avoid a proxy battle, the firm secured board seats to maintain influence over company leadership.
In August 2023, Judge Brantley Starr ordered Southwest Airlines to take an eight-hour exercise on religious freedom with the Alliance Defending Freedom after the airline violated previous court rulings.
The airline was also responsible for paying for the travel, meals, and training related to religious freedom training.
Judge Starr ordered, “Because Southwest’s right to speak when implementing the Court’s injunction ensures a continued partnership in the future, and Southwest’s speech and actions toward employees demonstrate a chronic failure to understand the role of federal protections for religious freedom, the Court concludes that training on religious freedom for three lawyers at Southwest the Court finds responsible (Kerrie Forbes, Kevin Minchey, and Chris Maberry) is the least restrictive means of achieving compliance with the Court’s order.”
“The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has conducted such training in the past, and the Court deems that appropriate here,” Starr wrote.
Flight attendant Charlene Carter won $5.1 million in a 2022 lawsuit after she argued Southwest Airlines and the Transportation Workers Union of America violated her religious rights when she refused to pay employee dues going to the pro-abortion Women’s March.
