Southwest Airlines to suspend flights as staffing shortage continues

It's safe to say that customers who chose Southwest Airlines during this past year did not have the promised best experience, the airline experienced a range of problems due to bad weather and staffing shortage. The new incoming CEO Bob Jorden vows to not repeat the same mistakes.

The Airline has announced that they would be hiring 5,000 new employees and they are halfway there in terms of achieving their goal. The carrier has also trimmed down some of its services due to low staff. Many other airlines like Spirit and American had ambitious travel schedules in order to reel in the revenue lost due to the pandemic, the staffing shortage halted many of these plans. The Dallas-based airlines which currently hosts 56,000 employees plan on hiring 8,000 more next year. In an attempt at leaving no stone unturned, the airline has raised its starting compensation to $15 an hour and is offering referral bonuses, retention bonuses, and additional pay for employees situated in markets with a higher cost of living. Jorden is confident that it will achieve its goal of hiring 5,000 employees.

Source: CNBC