After filing bankruptcy for a second time this year, Spirit Airlines continues to look for ways to cut costs, an effort that will now include significantly reducing schedule capacity.
The struggling carrier’s CEO, Dave Davis, told staff in a memo distributed Wednesday that the airline will reduce its capacity by 25 percent for the November schedule, according to CNBC.
Davis said the schedule reduction is aimed at optimizing the carrier’s network in order to focus on its strongest markets.
The capacity cuts mirror those undertaking by the airline between March and the end of June, when it came out of the first bankruptcy filing.
Job cuts and furloughs may also be on the horizon, according to the sam memo reported on by CNBC.
In addition, CNBC reported that Spirit is also negotiating with vendors and aircraft lessors, along with evaluating fleet size, as it tries to stabilize its operations overall.
“These evaluations will inevitably affect the size of our teams as we become a more efficient airline,” said Davis’ Wednesday memo to Spirit employees.
“Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger. We know this adds uncertainty, and we are committed to keeping you as these decisions are made,” Davis added.
It remains unclear exactly how many employees may be let go amid the current cost-cutting efforts. CNBC reached out to Spirit to obtain an estimate but was told that specifics are not yet available.
“We have engaged our labor unions to discuss the impacts of the network and fleet adjustments on our Team Members, and we will share more as these discussions progress,” Spirit told CNBC in an email.
Furloughs and demotions were previously announced by the struggling airline back in July. At that point, Spirit Airlines announced plans for a significant downsizing that included furloughs for as many as 270 pilots and demotions 140 others as part of cost-cutting measures to scale down the workforce in response to a slimmer flight schedule.
That initial round of demotions were expected to take effect October 1, and the furloughs on November 1.
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