Southwest Suspends Corporate Hiring, Scales Back Internships

“Every single dollar matters,” Jordan said.

The airline will suspend nonunion hiring and promotions. Most summer internship offers will also be paused, he said in the memo on Monday.

“You’ll begin to see and feel efforts related to our cost initiative in the coming weeks, including some hard decisions I’ve had to make,” Jordan said.

These moves, the CEO said in the CNBC report, are part of a broader cost-cutting initiative to help the airline become a more “lean, efficient and agile company.”

Another cut will be the suspension of the Dallas-based airline’s employee “rallies,” a tradition dating back 40 years. The 2025 events were to take place in Dallas and Phoenix.

During these events, employees hear directly from leadership on company goals for the year.

Last week, two high-ranking Southwest executives, chief financial officer Tammy Romo and administrative chief Linda Rutherford, outlined plans to retire later this year. Both leaders had over three decades of experience at the airline.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.