PORTLAND, Ore — Southwest Airlines will place 85 of its employees at Portland International Airport on furlough next year unless the company reaches cost-cutting agreements with labor unions, the company informed state officials last week.
The move will affect 52 ramp agents, 21 customer service agents and 12 operations agents, according to the notice Southwest filed with Oregon's workforce investments office. The furlough will likely begin March 15, 2021, and last six months.
In the announcement, airline said the furloughs were due to the pandemic, expiration of the federal Payroll Support Program for airlines and lack of progress on cost-saving measure with unions representing its employees.
"The involuntary furlough will take place next year unless we reach cost-saving agreements with IAM and/or TWU Local 555, the government enacts a satisfactory PSP extension, or there is some other unforeseen event such as a significant increase in revenue," the company notice said.
The furlough would be the latest among several mass layoffs at the Portland airport. Food service provider Sky Chefs cut 193 jobs in October. Menzies Aviation laid off 186 at the same time. And United Airlines announced a furlough of 119 workers this summer.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated domestic air travel and tourism. As a result, Southwest Airlines has lost billions of dollars in revenues since the pandemic began," according to the company's vice president for human resources, Julie Weber, in its notice.
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
