Southwest to close two flight attendant bases amid workforce reduction plan

Southwest Airlines has announced that it plans to close two of its flight attendant bases amid cost-cutting and workforce reduction efforts.

The airline declared that it intends to close its flight attendant bases at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and at Texas’ Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The two locations are smaller satellite bases and house only flight attendants, not pilots.

The two bases will close in July 2025, and the carrier will relocate the 280 impacted flight attendants to nearby crew hubs.

“We are consolidating our flight attendant satellite bases into our primary 12 base cities as we work to further maximize our operational efficiency and reliability,” Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Perry told The Dallas Morning News.

In February 2025, Southwest President and CEO Bob Jordan told airline employees that part of the company’s three-year “transformational plan” is to maximize efficiencies and minimize costs.

“We have made the very tough decision to move forward with a reduction in our workforce, focused almost entirely on Corporate and Leadership positions,” Jordan said.

According to Jordan, this decision affects approximately 1,750 Employee roles, or 15% of corporate positions.

“This decision is unprecedented in our 53-year history, and change requires that we make difficult decisions. We are at a pivotal moment as we transform Southwest Airlines into a leaner, faster, and more agile organization,” Jordan added.

Southwest said that it estimates partial-year 2025 savings to be approximately $210 million and full-year 2026 savings to be approximately $300 million as a result of the cost-cutting and workforce reduction efforts.

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