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Southwest plans to cut flights in Atlanta and add them elsewhere. His unions are dissatisfied

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines plans to cut about a third of its flights to Atlanta next year to save money as the company comes under pressure from a hedge fund to increase profits and boost the airline's stock price.

The retreat in Atlanta, where southwest is much smaller than Delta Air Lineswill cut more than 300 pilot jobs and Flight attendantalthough, according to the company, they will have a chance of moving.

A Southwest official said Wednesday the airline had to cut unprofitable routes and “demand to Atlanta does not support our flight levels.”

While the airline's planners “try everything they can before making difficult decisions like this, we must make this change to get us back to profitability,” Atlanta-based employee Tiffany Laurent said in a memo to the Employees.

Shares of Dallas-based Southwest fell 4.6%.

Southwest executives are expected to provide details of the planned changes at Thursday's investor meeting. The session is a response to Campaign by Elliott Investment Management to shake up Southwest's leadership and reverse the profit decline of the past three years.

According to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Southwest will cut 58 flights per day and reduce its presence at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 18 to 11 gates. The news is painful for the Atlanta-based employees.

“It is simply astonishing that the airline with the strongest network in the history of our industry is now withdrawing from an important market because of the failure of this leadership group to evolve and innovate,” the union said in a memo to pilots .

Bill Bernal, president of the local Transport Workers Union, which represents flight attendants in the Southwest, said his union was outraged by the job cuts in Atlanta. He said Southwest has assured the union it will grow in Atlanta.

“This is gaslighting at its finest,” Bernal said in a memo to union members. “Once again, flight attendants are paying the price for poor management decisions.”

A Southwest spokesperson responded: “Decisions like these are difficult for our company because of the impact on our employees, but we have a history of more than 53 years of ensuring they are considered.”

While Southwest pulled back in Atlanta, it released its schedule Wednesday through next June, which includes new routes between Nashville and six other cities and five new Red Eye flights from Hawaii to Las Vegas and Phoenix. These additions will begin in April.

Earlier this year, Southwest withdrawn from four smaller markets and announced it would limit hiring in response to Boeing's weakening financial results and delays in purchasing new planes.

Even more notable, CEO Robert Jordan said in July that Southwest would do this Start by assigning passengers to seats and reserves almost a third of its seats for premium service with more legroom.

By Vanessa

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