The Dallas-based airline blamed delays in aircraft deliveries by Boeing.
DALLAS — Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is making buybacks at 18 U.S. airports due to “delays in aircraft deliveries” from Boeing Co., reports say.
Affected employees include airport ground staff, customer service personnel, ramp and operations personnel, cargo personnel, and more. The airline’s Dallas headquarters is among the airports affected.
It’s unclear how many employees will be affected, but a Southwest Airlines spokesperson said the airline had previously announced plans to end this year with 2,000 fewer employees than at the end of 2023.
“Due to aircraft delivery delays, Southwest Airlines has reduced overall capacity to meet demand with a constrained fleet,” the airline said in a statement. “In addition to the continued slowdown in hiring, offering voluntary separations and furloughs to contract and non-contract employees will help avoid overstaffing in certain locations.”
Southwest Airlines has struggled with Boeing’s ability to deliver planes in a timely manner, with the airline announcing it will receive 20 new planes this year, which is higher than previous expectations, Bloomberg reported. This was down from 79 aircraft.
The acquisition announcement comes after Southwest Airlines announced earlier this year that it plans to cut flights from Atlanta to 16 cities starting in April 2025. The cuts included cutting 140 pilots and 200 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines’ Atlanta crew base.
Bloomberg reports that the new offer is aimed at workers at airports in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Baltimore, Detroit and Cleveland, as well as an airport in Buffalo, New York. Corpus Christi, Texas. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Portland, Oregon. Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers, Florida. Burbank, Long Beach, San Jose, and Santa Ana, California.
