Southwest Airlines Targets Pay Cuts in Bid to Avert Layoffs
- Carrier says it will push for contract changes from unions
- CEO’s base salary drops to zero, executive pay stays down 20%
This article is for subscribers only.
Southwest Airlines Co. will seek to cut employee compensation in a last-ditch effort to avoid the first involuntary layoffs in the company’s 49-year history.
The company wants to have givebacks in place by Jan. 1, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly told employees in a video message Monday, warning that “we all need to sacrifice more.” Kelly won’t receive a salary through the end of 2021. And 20% pay cuts for senior executives will continue next year as the company contends with a travel collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.