Hawaiian Airlines Layoffs: Commercial US Airline Plans To Lay Off Non-Contract Employees After Its USD 1.9 Billion Merger With Alaska Airlines

Honolulu, October 28: Hawaiian Airlines, a commercial US airline based in Honolulu, plans to lay off employees from its workforce in Hawaii amid its recent merger with Alaska Air Group Inc. On September 18, 2024, Alaska Airlines completed its USD 1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines-parent company Hawaiian Holdings. According to a report, the merger is the first major one since 2016 after Alaska's merger with Virgin America Airlines.

Anchorage Daily News reported that the job reductions were announced due to the Alaska-Hawaiian merger, leading to 73 people losing their jobs.  It said that Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson Alex Da Silva highlighted the situation and that the company's 1400 non-contract employees had received offers to stay with the combined organisation for at least six months. After the merger, he said, Hawaiian intended to retain most of its employees for a year and even longer. Spirit Airlines Layoffs: Budget Carrier Plans To Lay Off Employees, Sell Planes To Reduce Costs and Raise Cash.

The spokesperson said that the airline encouraged the workers to apply for the open roles within the merged organisation. Alex Da Silva said some non-contract interim positions were tied to "specific integration milestones to conclude once projects are completed in the next 6 to 18 months." He said that most Hawaiian Airlines layoffs could occur once the airline comes closer to operating under a single operating certificate. 

However, Aviation historian Peter Forman reportedly said that more layoffs would be introduced and affect non-bargaining members, especially as the interim jobs came to a close. He further said that the announcement of Hawaiian Airlines layoffs was for a small number of people and likely would affect more people in the future. The Hawaiian layoffs affected 57 people in Hawaii and 16 from the mainland. The company spokesperson said the roles were cut because they were duplicates and were from non-contract operations. Hoax Bomb Threats: India’s IT Ministry Urges Elon Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta To Remove Misinformation, Ensure Due Diligence.

Alex Da Silva said that all the 73 laid-off employees would retain their jobs through December 17, 2024, highlighting the 90 days from the closure of the merger. He said it was challenging for the team members, but Hawaiian Airlines was committed to supporting all the staff throughout their transition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2024 08:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).