Southwest Boosts Minimum Wage to $15, Sets Raises for 7,000
- Increases for baggage workers, plane cleaners, ticket agents
- Carrier acts to retain, attract employees for expansion effort
This article is for subscribers only.
Southwest Airlines Co. will increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour and raise the pay of thousands of airport workers to ensure it retains sufficient staff and can attract new employees to support growth over the next two to four years.
The move will affect more than 7,000 employees and take effect Aug. 1, the airline told employees Friday. Southwest declined to provide the total cost of the increases, which will go to baggage and cargo handlers, workers who clean aircraft or deliver parts, reservations agents, customer-service employees and others. The airline had 56,500 full-time employees at the end of 2020.