Southwest sounds alarm on jobs in 'very bad environment'

Southwest CE Gary Kelly told employees on Monday that he was concerned about the impact of a recent rise in COVID-19 cases and quarantines on already-weak travel demand and said passenger numbers would need to triple by the end of the year to prevent job cuts. "Although furloughs and layoffs remain our very last resort, we can’t rule them out as a possibility obviously in this very bad environment," Kelly said in a message to employees. He added that a spike in cases and travel restrictions "aren’t positive developments for our business, and we are concerned about the impact on already weak travel demand." Southwest has until Jul 15 to apply for early exits. No US airline can furlough staff before Oct 1, according to terms of a government bailout, and must give employees 60 days' notice of potential furloughs. Monday is the deadline for Delta employees to accept a voluntary exit deal. <br/>