Southwest Airlines has announced a 15% reduction in its corporate workforce to create a “leaner and more agile organization” as part of the airline’s transformational plan.
The reduction will affect approximately 1,750 jobs, primarily in corporate and leadership roles, the airline announced in a statement on February 17, 2025.
The job cuts will include about 15% of corporate positions, including senior leadership and directors. 11 senior leadership positions, representing 15% of the airline’s senior management committee, will also be eliminated as part of the restructuring.
Southwest President and CEO Bob Jordan explained that the decision is part of the airline’s three-year business transformation plan, adding that the change required difficult decisions.
“I arrived at this decision thoughtfully and carefully, knowing how hard it will be to say goodbye to colleagues who have been a significant part of our Southwest culture and accomplishments,” Jordan said.
In a separate message to employees, Jordan added that this transformational plan is the “largest and most comprehensive in the airline’s 53-year history”. It aims to increase revenue and customer loyalty by enhancing the customer experience, improving efficiency, and optimizing costs.
“We must ensure we fund the right work, reduce duplicative efforts, and have a lean organizational structure that drives clarity, pace, and urgency,” Jordan stated. “Improving how we work together and how we get work done has a tremendous impact on our efficiency as a company and how we deliver against our plan.”
As a result of the workforce reduction, the airline expects partial year 2025 savings to be approximately $210 million and full-year 2026 savings to be approximately $300 million, the statement continued.
These savings exclude an expected one-time charge in first quarter 2025 in the range of $60 million to $80 million, mostly for severance and post-employment benefits.
The actual one-time costs will be based on specific employee elections during the workforce reduction, the statement added.
Southwest said it will “continue to report on additional cost-savings actions as 2025 progresses.”
The layoffs will start in late April 2025 and should be substantially complete by the end of the second quarter of 2025.
