lowlycfi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2003
- Posts
- 595
...from PRN Newswire...
After extensive deliberation,Southwest has reluctantly concluded that our nine current Reservations Centers must be consolidated into six. As you may know, the number of telephone calls handled by our superb Reservations Agents has declined consistently over the last several years as our Customers have chosen other means for booking travel. Based on an exhaustive review, the difficult decision to consolidate the operations of our Reservations Centers at Dallas (DRC), Little Rock (LRC), and Salt Lake City (URC) into our six other Centers was made. The three Centers are scheduled to close February 28, 2004.
Employees from DRC, LRC, and URC, totaling approximately 1,900, will be allowed to relocate to one of our six other Reservations Centers. Employees who do not wish to relocate will be offered the opportunity to retire or resign with a generous severance package. The package includes a cash severance payment as well as pass privileges, medical coverage, and career guidance for a certain period of time.
“Our Employees are our most valuable asset, and any decision that affects any of your lives is not taken lightly,” said President Colleen Barrett.
Reservations’ Senior Leadership explained that we tried to balance staffing to the decreasing phone demand by allowing for natural attrition, changing hours of operation, increasing leave without pay (LWOP), and converting some fulltime Reservations Agents to parttime. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been sufficient to match the way our Customers now book their travel. The excess capacity, spread out over nine underutilized facilities, is inefficient and has produced an unproductive work environment, with unsatisfactory choices of shifts for many of our Reservations Employees.
Southwest has a fiscal responsibility to our Shareholders and our Employees. While we remain profitable, our profits are down, and our financial returns are unsatisfactory. In particular, our costs are rising at a time when low-cost competition is rapidly increasing. It is only by making such difficult choices that we can protect the future competitiveness of Southwest Airlines as well as the future job security and Profitsharing of our Employees. We did not furlough after the devastation of September 11, 2001, and we will not furlough now
After extensive deliberation,Southwest has reluctantly concluded that our nine current Reservations Centers must be consolidated into six. As you may know, the number of telephone calls handled by our superb Reservations Agents has declined consistently over the last several years as our Customers have chosen other means for booking travel. Based on an exhaustive review, the difficult decision to consolidate the operations of our Reservations Centers at Dallas (DRC), Little Rock (LRC), and Salt Lake City (URC) into our six other Centers was made. The three Centers are scheduled to close February 28, 2004.
Employees from DRC, LRC, and URC, totaling approximately 1,900, will be allowed to relocate to one of our six other Reservations Centers. Employees who do not wish to relocate will be offered the opportunity to retire or resign with a generous severance package. The package includes a cash severance payment as well as pass privileges, medical coverage, and career guidance for a certain period of time.
“Our Employees are our most valuable asset, and any decision that affects any of your lives is not taken lightly,” said President Colleen Barrett.
Reservations’ Senior Leadership explained that we tried to balance staffing to the decreasing phone demand by allowing for natural attrition, changing hours of operation, increasing leave without pay (LWOP), and converting some fulltime Reservations Agents to parttime. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been sufficient to match the way our Customers now book their travel. The excess capacity, spread out over nine underutilized facilities, is inefficient and has produced an unproductive work environment, with unsatisfactory choices of shifts for many of our Reservations Employees.
Southwest has a fiscal responsibility to our Shareholders and our Employees. While we remain profitable, our profits are down, and our financial returns are unsatisfactory. In particular, our costs are rising at a time when low-cost competition is rapidly increasing. It is only by making such difficult choices that we can protect the future competitiveness of Southwest Airlines as well as the future job security and Profitsharing of our Employees. We did not furlough after the devastation of September 11, 2001, and we will not furlough now
