Southwest Airlines’ customer service to go fully-remote
United States-based carrier Southwest Airlines is set to shift its customer service agents to full-time remote work as they plan to close their reservation centers.
According to a statement released by the firm, the shift is set to be effective on September 1though most of their reservation agents had already started working remotely throughout the pandemic.
Southwest has more than 3,200 customer service and reservations agents based in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix, and its headquarters in Dallas.
A company spokesperson said that the physical locations where agents were based will now be open to other departments for repurposing.
The closures make Southwest the latest company to weigh whether in-office work is necessary, practical, and attractive for workers in a post-pandemic culture. Southwest and other airlines scramble to hire new staff as travel demand roars after a two-year slump.
However, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the labor union representing the airline’s customer service agents, said that the decision was made without input from employees.
