Southwest Airlines pauses corporate hiring, most summer internships to cut costs
Southwest Airlines is pausing corporate hiring and promotions, suspending most of its summer internships and going without some employee team-building events that date back to the 1980s in order to cut costs and improve margins, CEO Bob Jordan told staff. “Every single dollar matters as we continue to fight to return to excellent financial performance,” Jordan said in the note Monday, which was seen by CNBC. He said the company will delay other activities “when it makes sense.” A Southwest spokeswoman confirmed the changes. “We’ll continue to evaluate hiring needs on an ongoing basis to determine when it makes sense for the business to resume hiring,” she said in an email. As part of the cost cuts, Southwest is pausing its employee “rallies,” a company team-building tradition that dates back to 1985 in which staff hear from the airline’s leaders about the year’s goals and are treated to food and entertainment. Southwest spent months last year under pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, which called for a CEO change at the carrier. The two sides settled in October with Elliott winning five Southwest board seats, short of control, and Jordan remaining in the top job.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2025-01-15/unaligned/southwest-airlines-pauses-corporate-hiring-most-summer-internships-to-cut-costs
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Southwest Airlines pauses corporate hiring, most summer internships to cut costs
Southwest Airlines is pausing corporate hiring and promotions, suspending most of its summer internships and going without some employee team-building events that date back to the 1980s in order to cut costs and improve margins, CEO Bob Jordan told staff. “Every single dollar matters as we continue to fight to return to excellent financial performance,” Jordan said in the note Monday, which was seen by CNBC. He said the company will delay other activities “when it makes sense.” A Southwest spokeswoman confirmed the changes. “We’ll continue to evaluate hiring needs on an ongoing basis to determine when it makes sense for the business to resume hiring,” she said in an email. As part of the cost cuts, Southwest is pausing its employee “rallies,” a company team-building tradition that dates back to 1985 in which staff hear from the airline’s leaders about the year’s goals and are treated to food and entertainment. Southwest spent months last year under pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, which called for a CEO change at the carrier. The two sides settled in October with Elliott winning five Southwest board seats, short of control, and Jordan remaining in the top job.<br/>
