Spirit Airlines cuts 200 jobs in bankruptcy cost-cutting scramble

Spirit Airlines is cutting about 200 jobs across the company as the struggling budget carrier seeks to reduce costs after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.

“We are executing on plans to rightsize our organization to align with our current fleet size and level of flying and ultimately optimize our airline,” the airline told CNBC in a statement. “After reviewing our organizational structure, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 200 positions from various departments across the airline.”

Spirit had about 13,000 employees at the time of its bankruptcy filing, about 84% of them represented by unions, according to a court filing. The job cuts are to nonunion positions.

The Dania Beach, Florida-based airline had previously furloughed hundreds of pilots and offered flight attendants leaves of absence to try to reduce costs. It has also shrunk its network and reached deals to sell some of its Airbus jetliner fleet to raise cash.

Spirit has struggled since its planned merger with JetBlue was blocked by a federal court on antitrust grounds a year ago, adding to struggles that also included a Pratt & Whitney engine recall and a surge in labor costs after the pandemic.

“While we will continue to identify additional operational efficiencies, these efforts, along with our recent Pilot furloughs, achieve our previously announced target of $80 million of annualized cost reductions,” Spirit said. “These decisions are never made lightly, and we are committed to treating all impacted Team Members with the utmost care and respect.”

The carrier said it expects to exit bankruptcy this quarter.