Only half of Southwest Staffers vaccinated, airline may lose millions

Southwest Airlines has been in the spotlight since they announced a vaccination mandate for all their staff. Since then, they have removed unvaccinated employees or put them on leave, employees have gone on strike, and much more. As a result of this, the airlines have faced massive flight delays and cancellations. 

Despite all this, CEO Gary Kelly said that only half of the airlines' 56,000 employees have been vaccinated or applied for exemption. This comes as a concern to the management as Biden's last date for vaccination of airline staff is approaching in just more than a month. December 8th is the deadline given by the administration. If the staff isn't vaccinated the airline might lose an array of federal contracts as the US Government is their biggest client. This could mean a loss of millions of dollars. Kelly said in an interview on Thursday that those who are yet to be vaccinated are being offered financial incentives. 

On Monday dozens of protestors gathered outside Southwest's Dallas headquarters to protest, the pilots union has filed a restraining order to prevent members to comply. Governor Greg Abbott has issued an executive order prohibiting the vaccine mandate, which Kelly supports. These issues have led to the cancelation of over 2,000 flights and a loss of $75 million just this month. 

Source: CBS News