Hawaiian Airlines announced Thursday it is cutting approximately 150 jobs, or four percent of its workforce between now and the end of January. Pilots, flight attendants, airport service and maintenance positions are among the positions being cut. Employees are to
Hawaiian Airlines announced Thursday it is cutting approximately 150 jobs, or four percent of its workforce between now and the end of January.
Pilots, flight attendants, airport service and maintenance positions are among the positions being cut.
Employees are to receive severance benefits from Hawaiian Air.
Some 60 flight attendants are also taking voluntary leave, is reducing work hours for some part-time personnel and won’t be filling some open jobs.
The job cuts are due to soft travel demand, Hawaiian Air said in a prepared statement.
The company employees 3,538 workers.
John W. Adams, chairman and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Air, said, “We don’t like having to take steps that affect our employees’ lives in this way, but the economic crisis we and all airlines are now facing demands aggressive action to maximize efficiency. In attacking all areas of our cost structure, we can’t avoid these difficult decisions. As we move forward, we will continue to evaluate the economic outlook and make further adjustments as necessary.”
Last week, Adams said a federal antitrust exemption granted Hawaiian and rival Aloha Airlines would likely result in some job cuts. Aloha said it would ask its employees to take pay cuts to save $37 million over three years in an effort to get a federal loan guarantee.
The two airlines have said they will begin coordinating interisland flight service under the exemption Dec. 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
