Southwest Airlines has slashed more than 1,750 corporate jobs – including roles in senior management – in its first large-scale retrenchment aimed at saving costs.
The job cuts make up about 15% of corporate positions, says the low-cost operator, which expects the layoffs to be mostly completed by the second quarter.
Dallas-based Southwest expects partial year 2025 savings to be around $210 million, with full-year 2026 savings to be approximately $300 million.
Airline chief Bob Jordan calls the layoffs “unprecedented”, adding: “We are at a pivotal moment as we transform Southwest Airlines into a leaner, faster, and more agile organisation.”
The layoffs are part of wider efforts by Southwest to revamp its business following several years of tepid profitability.
In early January, it announced changes in its senior leadership team, with longtime finance chief Tammy Romo and chief administration officer Linda Rutherford stepping down in April. Former Breeze Airways president Tom Doxey has since been appointed as the airline’s new chief financial officer.
In 2024, former CEO and executive chairman Gary Kelly left the company, and Southwest said it was populating its board with six new directors.
The airline’s fourth-quarter profit improved considerably over the same period of 2023, as it posted a $261 million gain, compared with its prior-year loss of $252 million.
However, the company’s full-year profit of $465 million almost exactly matched its 2023 mark. Jordan acknowledged during Southwest’s recent earnings call that the airline’s cost structure is “not where we want it to be”.
