Southwest Airlines has announced a significant reduction in workforce, with approximately 1,750 employee roles to be eliminated. The layoffs focus on corporate overhead and leadership positions, representing about 15% of the company’s senior management committee.
The move comes after years of Southwest’s emphasis on prioritizing its employees, a policy rooted in the company’s co-founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher’s philosophy that employees come first. However, under new leadership, Southwest has seemingly reversed this approach, now placing investors at the top of the priority list.
While Southwest remains profitable, experts argue that the mass layoffs are a significant departure from the company’s core values. The airline’s shift in focus may ultimately lead to a decline in customer satisfaction and loyalty, as employees become less invested in providing excellent service.
Bill Murphy Jr., founder of Understandably, notes that this decision can be seen as a missed opportunity to build a great company by prioritizing employees. Instead, Southwest appears to be focusing on increasing revenue and boosting the CEO’s share price at the expense of other stakeholders.
Source: https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/after-53-years-southwest-airlines-just-made-a-heartbreaking-announcement-and-its-the-end-of-an-era/91150385