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Southwest Airlines to suspend service at 4 airports across US, 2,000 employees to be fired
Southwest Airlines has planned to suspend service at four airports across the United States, one of the reasons reportedly being Boeing aircraft delivery delays. The airline will receive only 20 of the 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes it was expecting this year, Southwest has confirmed. As many as 2,000 employees will also be fired.
The airline has been looking to cut costs after reporting a quarterly loss of $231 million, which is 39 cents per share. The delays actually mean slower growth.
The following are the airports Southwest will end service at on August 4:
- George Bush International Airport in Houston
- Bellingham International Airport in Bellingham, Washington
- Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York
- Cozumel International Airport on Cozumel island, Mexico
What is Southwest CEO Bob Jordan saying?
“Achieving our financial goals is an immediate imperative. The recent news from Boeing regarding further aircraft delivery delays presents significant challenges for both 2024 and 2025. We are reacting and replanning quickly to mitigate the operational and financial impacts while maintaining dependable and reliable flight schedules for our customers,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said on the company’s first quarter earnings call on Thursday, April 25. Jordan said that besides ending service at these airports, they “are evaluating options to enhance our Customer Experience as we study product preferences and expectations, including onboard seating and our cabin. And, we are implementing cost control initiatives, including limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs. We now expect to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer Employees as compared with the end of 2023.”
Usually, airlines end services in regional airports and cut unprofitable or less-profitable routes when they have to save labour costs. They also do this when they are required to add capacity to more profitable routes and ensure more revenue is generated.