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Tag: corporate

Southwest to cut 15% of corporate staff, including senior leadership positions

Jack Otter and the panel discuss the downfall of Southwest Airlines’ popularity and how they could turn it around on ‘Barron’s Roundtable.’

Southwest Airlines cut 15% of its corporate workforce as it tries to rapidly reduce overhead costs to become a “leaner” company.

The airline said that the layoffs primarily target corporate overhead and leadership positions, including senior leadership and director roles. In total, 1,750 jobs will be affected, including 11 senior leadership positions, as the carrier strives to build a “leaner and more agile organization” under its transformational plan.

“We are at a pivotal moment as we transform Southwest Airlines into a leaner, faster, and more agile organization,” CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement.

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Southwest said most of the separations will be completed by the end of the second fiscal quarter, and will result in approximately $210 million in savings for fiscal year 2025 and $300 million for the full 2026 fiscal year.

The company expects to incur $60 million to $80 million in costs related to severance payments and post-employment benefits in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025.

Travelers use a Southwest Airlines Co. self check-in kiosk at Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on Friday, July 19, 2019. ( Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Southwest has made substantial changes to rein in costs, particularly after activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a $2 billion stake in the carrier and subsequently called on the airline to take actions such as making leadership changes to improve its financial performance.

Last month, the company announced it was halting certain corporate events and pausing some hiring and most summer internships, though it plans to honor offers that were already made, in order to limit discretionary spending.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told employees in a January memo that “every single dollar matters as we continue to fight to return to excellent financial performance,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

Last fall, the carrier said it would be “minimizing hiring, optimizing scheduling efficiency, capitalizing on supply chain opportunities, and improving corporate efficiency” while implementing a “multi-year” plan to improve its finances. Southwest is aiming to achieve a $500 million run rate in savings in 2027, the company said at its investor day in September.

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LUV SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 30.28 +0.35 +1.17%

During the investor day, Southwest also detailed big changes it has in the pipeline, such as offering assigned seats, evolving its boarding process and introducing premium seating. It will also start operating red-eye flights in February to “maximize aircraft utilization” and shorten the turnaround time for planes between flights.

FOX Business’ Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.

February 18, 2025
Accenture dropping corporate DEI policies

Kennedy Saves the World podcast host Kennedy discusses the future of DEI in education on Varney & Co.

Accenture is taking steps to end its global diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals amid changes in the U.S. political and legal landscape, according to an internal memo reviewed by FOX Business.

The global information technology (IT) and management consulting firm said in a memo from CEO Julie Sweet to employees on Thursday that it is “sunsetting” its diversity goals it established in 2017, which had largely been achieved, while DEI targets will no longer be used to assess staff performance. The Financial Times was the first to report the development.

The company is winding down career development programs “for people of specific demographic groups” and is planning on “investing more in our core career development programs across Accenture as part of refreshing our talent strategy.”

Accenture is also pausing its submissions to external diversity benchmarking surveys while it takes time to evaluate its participation in those surveys.

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Accenture joined the growing list of companies rolling back DEI policies. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Sweet noted the “evolving landscape in the United States, including recent executive orders with which we must comply” as contributing to the moves.

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ACN ACCENTURE PLC 387.34 -10.91 -2.74%

“We are and always have been a meritocracy. We are and always have been committed to an inclusive, merit-based workplace free from bias, and a culture in which all our people are respected, feeling a sense of belonging and have equal opportunity,” Sweet wrote.

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“We have always believed that attracting, hiring and developing people who have different backgrounds, different perspectives and different experiences are essential to driving innovation and serving global companies across multiple industries,” she added.

Sweet’s memo noted that Accenture is continuing to support Employee Resource Groups and Networks, which are “open to all of our people and have broad participation, membership and allyship.”

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Accenture is winding down the DEI policies it created in 2017 and updated in 2020. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Accenture’s announcement comes as several major companies have dropped or revised DEI policies over the last year.

Amazon, Facebook parent Meta, Google, McDonald’s, Boeing, Molson Coors, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Deere, Apple, Target, Vanguard and more have all announced changes to diversity goals and policies since 2024.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

February 7, 2025
USAID activists say stopping ‘corporate welfare’ outweighs ending funds to terror-linked groups

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Protesters rallying against the sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) say that ending “corporate welfare” should be prioritized over looking at money being reportedly funneled to terror-linked groups.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been conducting a review of “waste” identified within USAID, the government agency that handles the distribution of foreign aid.

According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. A White House report also identified $15 million of taxpayer dollars being spent on condoms for the Taliban, a known terrorist group.

On Wednesday, Fox News Digital asked individuals protesting the USAID cuts outside the U.S. Capitol their thoughts about the agency reportedly funding terrorist-aligned groups.

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Fox News Digital spoke with individuals protesting the sweep of USAID. (Fox News Digital)

“I don’t want to hear anything about funding until we stop corporate welfare,” one protester, who was wearing a mask, told Fox News Digital.

“I think before we talk about funding that we’re sending off to other countries or devoting to poor people in this country that need help,” he added, “we need to talk about the billions in subsidies that we give to corporations like Tesla, like Space X.”

Another individual, also wearing a mask, said giving money to issues that don’t prioritize helping Americans is “crazy.”

“We need to be worrying about our people. We’re not out here giving money to help our people here and suffering,” they told Fox. “Any money going toward other issues is just crazy.”

Protesters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday to rally against Elon Musk’s crackdown on USAID spending. (Fox News Digital)

Asked about funding to terrorist-linked groups, Michael, a member of Veterans for Peace, said, “Funding has to be looked at, but I would suspect that that’s a very small minority of the funding that the U.S. does.”

“Foreign aid is less than 1% of the U.S. budget. So it’s a very small monetary number,” he added. “And like all programs, it needs to be evaluated every so often. And I think that the small number of programs who supposedly are connected with unsavory type groups are in the minority.”

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The protesters all expressed opposition to Musk’s role in the Trump administration as he spearheads efforts to cut costs within the federal government.

“If the White House would take the time to look at where the funding goes, I think they’d be more than happy with the results and the impact of U.S. taxpayer dollars to make the U.S. safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” said Mary, who is retired.

The protesters all expressed opposition to Musk’s role leading efforts to cut costs within the federal government. (Fox News Digital)

Several Democratic lawmakers spoke at the rally, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, and Reps. John Garamendi and Lateefah Simon of California.

The White House issued a report that revealed where taxpayer dollars have been funneled through the agency, such as over $400,000 to “help Indonesian coffee companies become more climate and gender friendly through USAID.”

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Musk said on X that he and President Donald Trump came to an agreement that the agency needed to be shut down.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 5, 2025
American Airlines subsidiary announced corporate HQ move from Ohio to North Carolina hours before deadly crash

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy provides details during an update on the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Helicopter.

On Wednesday — the same day as the deadly midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger airplane that occurred Wednesday night — PSA Airlines had announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Ohio to North Carolina, reports indicate.

PSA Airlines made the announcement “hours before” the fatal crash, the Dayton Daily News reported.

PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines Group. According to American Airlines, American Eagle Flight 5342, the flight involved in the incident, “was operated by PSA Airlines with a CRJ-700.”

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An American Eagle, operated by PSA Airlines, a CRJ-700 aircraft arrives at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan 22, 2025 in Arlington, Va. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines and PSA Airlines for comment about the announced headquarters relocation, but did not receive comment in time for publication.

It appears that there was a page on the PSA airlines website about the headquarters relocation announcement — but the link to that press release, as well as other links to the PSA Airlines website, currently redirect to the homepage of the American Airlines website.

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“We chose to relocate PSA’s headquarters to Charlotte for several important reasons, including that Charlotte is where most of our daily departures occur and almost all our training is based,” PSA president and CEO Dion Flannery noted, according to the Dayton Daily News. “Charlotte is a vibrant community and home to the world’s seventh-busiest airport.”

“While we’re looking forward to getting integrated into the Charlotte community, I want to sincerely thank the city of Dayton, its leaders and the entire Dayton community for embracing and supporting PSA for so many years. We will continue to have a presence in Dayton with a maintenance hangar and crew base, including more than 550 Dayton-based team members,” he noted, according to the outlet.

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Dozens lost their lives due to the deadly crash.

“Sadly, there are no survivors,” President Trump said on Thursday.

The incident is under investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s media relations division noted in Thursday a post on X that “NTSB investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane involved in yesterday’s mid-air collision at DCA. The recorders are at the NTSB labs for evaluation.”

January 31, 2025
Kohl’s cuts 10% of corporate workforce

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Kohl’s is cutting its corporate workforce by 10%, the struggling Wisconsin-based company said.

The retailer told FOX Business on Wednesday that closures of open positions will account for “more than half of the total reduction.” Some current employees who work at Kohl’s corporate offices are also losing their jobs, Kohl’s said.

The reduction, earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, is meant to “support Kohl’s ongoing actions to increase efficiencies and improve profitability for the long-term health and benefit of the business,” the company said.

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KSS KOHL’S CORP. 13.32 -0.26 -1.88%

Kohl’s has already informed employees affected by the workforce reduction. They received “competitive severance packages to help support their transition,” the retailer told FOX Business.

The company has also been making changes to its real estate footprint in recent weeks.

Twenty-seven “underperforming” Kohl’s stores across 15 states are slated to permanently close their doors by April, Kohl’s previously announced Jan. 9. Its San Bernardino e-commerce fulfillment center in California is also expected to shutter the following month.

Those closures, like the corporate workforce reduction, seek to “increase efficiencies and improve profitability” for Kohl’s over the long-term, the company said.

January 29, 2025
Starbucks corporate layoffs looming in March: CEO

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol says the companys app needs to be more transparent on pricing.

The global coffeehouse chain Starbucks will be cutting corporate jobs as its CEO Brian Niccol continues to implement changes to bolster lagging sales and improve profitability.

Niccol made the announcement via a notice to employees that was also posted on the Starbucks website.

He highlighted how the company aims to deliver on its “Back to Starbucks” strategy, a series of changes announced last year that aims to enhance customers’ in-store experience, but also said it needs to strive for better efficiency, which will ultimately result in layoffs.

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“We have recently begun the work to define the support organization for the future. We are approaching this work thoughtfully, but it will involve difficult decisions and choices. I expect that, unfortunately, we will have job eliminations and smaller support teams moving forward,” Niccol wrote.

People pass by a Starbucks coffee shop in Manhattan, New York, United States on Jan. 15, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“This work will not affect our in-store teams or the investments we are making in store hours. We will communicate changes by early March.”

He said he does not take such decisions lightly and wanted to be transparent about his plans in order to ensure that employees heard about the plans directly from him. It is unclear how many people will be let go.

Niccol, who took over as CEO in September, has emphasized the need for the company to get back to its roots as a coffee house.

The “Back to Starbucks” strategy aims to bring back some of the things that made the company the most recognizable coffee brand in the world.

That includes bringing back condiment bars to stores and enhancing the coffee house aesthetic with personal touches, such as serving coffee in ceramic mugs.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, pictured in 2015 (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Starbucks is also reintroducing the use of Sharpies to write customers’ names on cups and will stop charging extra for customizing beverages with non-dairy milk.

The company has also set a goal of a four-minute wait time in cafés and has provided additional coverage hours in over 3,000 stores.

Earlier this month, the company said it would only welcome paying customers to hang out and utilize the restrooms at its stores. The move was done to prioritize paying customers who want to sit and enjoy its cafés.

Starting this spring, the company will double its paid parental leave benefits for workers. The company previously offered six weeks of paid time off for parental leave.

Among its latest goals to create a positive work culture, the company also committed to filling 90% of retail leadership roles internally, to ensure employees stay longer and grow with the company. It is also continuing to cover 100% of college tuition for thousands of employees as part of its Starbucks College Achievement Plan and offering company stock to eligible partners.

“We have much more work to do but I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made and appreciate how everyone has rallied around the plan,” Niccol wrote to workers.

Starbucks Coffee cup is seen in this illustration photo taken at the cafe in Manama, Bahrain on March 5, 2024 (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Before Niccol took over, the company faced growing pressure from unionization campaigns across the nation and back-to-back disappointing fiscal quarters as traffic declined. Niccol, who replaced former CEO Laxman Narasimhan in August, is trying to boost profitability and create a better environment for workers.

Niccol has also faced employees striking at hundreds of stores nationwide.

Fox Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.

January 23, 2025