Since the restart of the Vaccation travel after norms were eased, almost every airlines have faced trouble to cope up with the schedules, many resulting in cancellations and hour long delays due to staffing woes, in simple terms, there aren't enough staffs to fly the aircrafts in U.S.A and run the airlines.
Earlier, to steamline the recruitment process and add efficiency, Southwest airlines had adopted automation in the recruiting process amid labour shortage, but that seems to have not helped much, as anticipated.
Southwest claims, though the airline did not have to furlough or lay off any of its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are approximately 4,000 open positions, including flight attendants and gate agents.
Now, a CNBC report says, Southwest Airlines launched this week new hiring referral bonuses for staff as the carrier struggles to hire new workers to keep up with a rebound in travel demand.
As per Southwest vice president and chief people officer Julie Weber , “Southwest is experiencing a sharp decline in qualified applicants due to low labor force participation and competition for available talent.”
Southwest staff can receive 20,000 “SWAG Points” , 10,000 on their referral’s first day of work and 10,000 after that person completes six months with the airline.
Those points on Southwest’s internal platform have a taxable value of 1.5 cents each, a company document says, giving the points a value of about $300. Southwest’s points can be redeemed for frequent flyer miles, gift cards or concert tickets.
The points cannot be redeemed for cash, Southwest said. Five employees’ referrals will also be selected each week for 5,000 points for the referring staff member, Weber wrote.
Southwest isn’t the one, United Airlines and JetBlue are also facing the hiring woes, and American Airlines is still trying to bring back the 3,200 furloughed flight attendants.
Last year, Southwest Airlines begged flight attendants and other employees to take a voluntary leave from work of up to 18 months, and Employees who took the time off were given 50% pay and full health benefits to cut the costs.
But scenario has changed very fast this year , Staffing shortages in the airline industry this summer have led to unprecedented flight disruptions as vaccation deprived travellers rush to the airports.
In June, Southwest raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour to retain the work force , while hiring them back has become a difficult task.
