Does this offer look familiar to Southwest pilots? REDFLYER?

[General Lee]

Or something like it (according to Redflyer) back in 2004. Check it out!


Early-retirement offer made to most Southwest workers

3 benefit packages floated after labor leads 10% rise in costs during 1st quarter


May 28, 2004|By BLOOMBERG NEWS

DALLAS- Southwest Airlines Co., the biggest low-fare carrier, said yesterday it is offering voluntary early retirement to most of its 31,522 employees to help reduce costs.

Southwest is the largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. It has about 2,200 employees based at BWI.
The program provides three benefit packages based on years of work and is available through June 25, spokeswoman Linda Rutherford said. The offers, to employees who have been with the Dallas-based company at least a year, include mixes of cash, health-care benefits and travel privileges.

Southwest has never laid off workers in its 33-year history. The early-retirement offer was requested by workers, chief executive Jim Parker said in a memo to employees. Southwest, the only major U.S. carrier to remain profitable since the 2001 terrorist attacks deepened a travel slump, had a 10 percent rise in total first-quarter costs, led by labor expenses.



Next time Red, think about what you title threads. Make sure you get all of the facts first. I should have titled this thread "Southwest offers furloughs......in 2004...."



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[waveflyer]

Why go back? Similar offers were also made in 2009....

But not now.

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Wave,

I think this is GL turning back the haters (mostly SWA people) saying Delta will furlough because packages are going out.

The usual FI "My airline's better than yours" Urinary Olympiad continues......

 

[Bwipilot]

GL--we'll see if the situation is the same.

In 2004, SWA wasn't going to furlough anyone if enough buyouts didn't happen. They used the buyouts to reduce employee cuts--and since SWA was overstaffed, the numbers worked out. SWA could save money by buying out senior employees instead of keeping extra employees on the roles during the downturn.

If Delta doesn't furlough anyone despite not enough people taking the buyout, the situations are the same. If Delta does furlough to meet their personnel targets after the buyouts happen, there's a huge difference--especially to those on the bottom of the list.

 

[pilotyip]

SWA has a lot of things going for it, but it is no longer the low cost carrier.

 

[General Lee]

GL--we'll see if the situation is the same.

In 2004, SWA wasn't going to furlough anyone if enough buyouts didn't happen. They used the buyouts to reduce employee cuts--and since SWA was overstaffed, the numbers worked out. SWA could save money by buying out senior employees instead of keeping extra employees on the roles during the downturn.

If Delta doesn't furlough anyone despite not enough people taking the buyout, the situations are the same. If Delta does furlough to meet their personnel targets after the buyouts happen, there's a huge difference--especially to those on the bottom of the list.

Bwipilot,

These offers were to select employees at Delta. They had to have over 10 years with the company, etc. Does that sound like furloughs, or does that sound like early out retirements? Delta just hired 1000 new flight attendants, and none were offered this deal (only the older ones). The pilots too were intitially not offered this, but Dalpa came in and wanted it offered to some of the older pilots, which some may take. Again, there were limits to this buyout offer. And you're right, if nobody takes it or they furlough after the buyouts happen, then that could be a huge difference.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Jar Jar]

DAL is just being smart with their money. They don't need to furlough, or reduce staffing. DAL knows that the training event costs are more than covered by the pay disparity between a 20-30 year employee and a 1-10 year employee. Transitioning to a more junior work force has [in the minds of corporate executives] the same benefit as reducing a company's long-term debt; it is an investment which results in lower costs in the not-so-distant future.

 

[redflyer65]

A 2004 post General? Wow, score.

Delta and the other legacies have furloughed at will without any regard to the pain on the employees. Will it happen again at Delta? I wouldn't bet against it.

So General, who will furlough first Delta or Southwest? You must not have taken too many history classes.

 

[redflyer65]

Southwest has never laid off workers in its 33-year history.


Bye Bye---General Lee

General,

I forgot, this was the best part! Thanks for that. I guess you can add another 7 years to that number to make it 40!

Bye, bye!

RF

 

[General Lee]

A 2004 post General? Wow, score.

Delta and the other legacies have furloughed at will without any regard to the pain on the employees. Will it happen again at Delta? I wouldn't bet against it.

So General, who will furlough first Delta or Southwest? You must not have taken too many history classes.

Well, since you totally screwed up your title of your thread (no furloughs BTW), I really don't think you understand what Delta even offered. They offered the SAME THING Southwest offered back in 2004, and I believe SWA did it also in 2009 (according to someone else on here). So, it is a tool used by BOTH airlines.

As far as who will furlough first, with the amount of retirement numbers coming at Delta (over 2000 at or over age 60), plus a flow down to Compass and Mesaba that is expensive (saved any furloughs during the 2008 recession), I would say it would be Southwest and Airtran. It would be too expensive for Delta to furlough, unless a catastrophe happened.

And, I didn't take a lot of history classes like you did in College. I was busy dating GIRLS. Do you remember your first kiss? What was his name?


Bye Bye---General Lee