Hawaiian Airlines cuts Hawaii workers as merger with Alaska Airlines continues

Hawaiian Airlines will cut 57 of its nearly 1,400 non-union jobs in Hawaii by the end of the year as a result of its merger with Alaska Airlines, the company said, and more job cuts are likely in the next six to 12 months .

Hawaiian’s job cuts include 52 of 825 employees at its corporate headquarters and four of 213 at its air cargo hangar. One more worker will be cut from Hawaiian’s 87 employees at its passenger terminal at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

Together, those facilities alone employ 1,125 non-union workers, Andy Schneider, executive vice president of Alaska’s “People Team,” wrote in a letter dated Friday to Jade Butay, director of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

“The layoffs are expected to begin on or about December 31, 2024,” Schneider wrote.

Hawaiian Airlines remains separate from Alaska for now as the companies go through a gradual process of combining operations. Hawaiian is one of Hawaii’s largest private employers, with approximately 7,500 employees, the vast majority of whom hold high-paying union jobs. It is also the isolated state’s dominant airline, providing vital transport for residents and cargo, as well as tourists who drive the economy.

And, at least for now, Hawaiian is Hawaii’s only major state carrier after the demise of Aloha Airlines in 2008.

Following are the layoffs announced on Friday previous news that all 6,000 union workers in Hawaii would remain employed through Alaska’s purchase of Hawaiian. When announcing the deal in September, Hawaiian’s interim chief executive Joe Sprague said Hawaiian would maintain its corporate headquarters near the Honolulu airport and that only a “small number” of non-union workers would be let go.

But that “small number” of 57 workers is expected to grow as the companies integrate.

Airline mergers are highly complex undertakings involving thousands of workers, different corporate cultures and complicated operations. As a result, The FAA requires airlines to operate separately according to a prescribed, six-phase process, culminating in the two airlines receiving a certificate to operate as a single entity.

As the airlines move closer to being one, Hawaiian is likely to cut more non-union jobs, Hawaiian spokesman Alex Da Silva said.

“We expect some non-contracted interim positions related to specific integration stages to end once projects are completed in the next 6 to 18 months,” Da Silva said.

The layoffs announced in Hawaii follow a series of one-on-one meetings with non-union workers about their future with Hawaiian, he said.

“A large majority of Hawaiian Airlines’ approximately 1,400 non-contract employees have received a permanent or interim position based in Hawaii with the combined company to continue to support Hawaiian’s expanded operational presence in the islands and the integration work of both airlines Da Silva said. .

The interim offers extend for at least six months from September, Da Silva said, and the company hopes to retain most people for a year or more, including some permanently.

In addition to the 57 people laid off in Hawaii, the company shed another 16 located on the mainland. Among the 73 employees were workers who either refused the offers or did not receive them.