Southwest Airlines plane is located at the gate of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas on February 16, 2023.
Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Southwest Airlines Driven by its cost cuts, the base of two crew members will also end, which also led to its first Large-scale layoffs In the 50 years of flight.
The airline will close its crew base at Fort Lauderdale, Florida-Gollywood International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Texas, the airline’s memo said.
“While the company has the right to make this decision, it is not without impact on the flight attendants,” said TWU Local 556 President Bill Bernal.
He said the union and the company agreed to move the closure back to one month so that it will take effect on July 1.
“This gives affected members more time to make arrangements for this change in their professional and personal lives,” Bernal said.
These airports are flight attendants, not the pilot’s so-called satellite base, rather than their main base.
A Southwest spokesman said the airline opened its base in early 2018 and could transfer the affected 280 flight attendants to 12 major bases.
“This change will ultimately help strengthen our crew network and provide more reliable operations for employees and customers,” the airline said in a statement.
Dallas operators have been Cut off unprofitable routesaffecting hundreds of front-line employees, including Atlanta. The airline said last month it would reduce the company’s staff by 15% or 1,750 people, which would save about $210 million this year.
The move comes after the airline settled with radical investors last year Elliott Investment Managementwon five Southwest board seats, lacking control. The company also pushed Bob Jordan to be replaced as CEO, although that was unsuccessful.
