Southwest to avoid first layoffs as relief package clears Justin Bachman Southwest Airlines Inc. said it would rescind plans to cut jobs and wages next year, now that new federal payroll support has been approved, averting what would have been the first worker layoffs in the carrier’s history. U.S. airlines will receive $15 billion to pay workers as part of the package President Donald Trump signed into law Sunday. The measure funds employee wages through March 31. Southwest could receive $2 billion from the law, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated last week. The pandemic forced Southwest to take “actions that we’ve never even considered before in order to save our Company,” Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly wrote in a memo to employees late Sunday. “Thankfully, as a result of this crucial aid, we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we will not be forced to follow through with those steps.”