Southwest Airlines will furlough 32 workers in Tampa
November 23, 2020 - Southwest Airlines plans to furlough 31 aircraft maintenance technicians and one ground service equipment technician at Tampa International Airport, effective Jan. 25. The airline also expects to furlough technicians in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando. The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated domestic air travel and tourism, Southwest said in a Nov. 18 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification to the state. The airline said it had a 70 percent drop in revenue in the third quarter of 2020. Southwest was able to maintain operations without employee pay cuts, layoffs or furlough through Sept. 30 because of the Payroll Support Program for the airline industry that was included in the federal CARES Act. But PSP has expired so Southwest is reducing costs associated with employee salaries, wages and benefits. Southwest said it expected the furloughs to be temporary, but to last more than six months.