0 min left

Southwest Employees Receive Record Breaking $620 Million in Proft Sharing

AirTran fight attendants Cherry Butter, left, Elizabeth Dunlap, second from left, and Ashley McLaughlin joke with a customer service agent shooting their picture against a Southwest Airlines sign after it was unveiled at a gate in preparation for Sunday's debut service for Southwest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, pictured Wednesday, Feb. 8 , 2012, in Atlanta. The AirTran and Southwest merged last year. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Southwest Airlines announces record-breaking profit sharing for employees in 2015, adding up to $620 million.

Southwest Airlines has hit a profit-sharing milestone, able to share a record $620 million with employees for 2015. That number equals about eight weeks of pay for each eligible employee, or 15.6 percent of their salaries. Employees will receive the money on April 29. In the past five years, Southwest has been inching up profit sharing margins, reaching a cumulative amount of $1.4 billion.

“Behind every milestone Southwest Airlines has celebrated — and there have been many — our employees are the driving force. I’m incredibly proud of the teamwork and heart behind every accomplishment,” said Gary Kelly, chairman, president, and CEO of Southwest Airlines, said in a release. “Our people have built one of the world’s most admired companies, and they share in Southwest’s success with this third consecutive record-breaking profit-sharing contribution.”

In addition to the profit sharing, Southwest invests a significant amount of money into its employees’ wellbeing and health. In 2015, including base salaries, the airline paid out $1.6 billion — $672 million of that going towards healthcare and employee welfare and wellness programs.

According to the release, “when this profit sharing contribution is added to the company’s $325 million in company match and other amounts contributed to the Southwest retirement plans, Southwest will have rewarded employees with a 2015 total retirement benefit of approximately $945 million.”

Southwest was the first airline to offer profit sharing, and through the program, employees own more than four percent of the overall shares.

[Photo: AP]

Comments are Closed.
2 Comments
D
diver858 February 12, 2016

Kelly's Koolaid machine, hard at work! Meanwhile, pilots and flight attendants are some of the lowest paid in the industry, have been working without a contract for 5 years, Kelly is taking aggressive actions to prevent ground workers from organizing.

S
starflyer February 12, 2016

And at the same time, Southwest passengers received back breaking seating from the new lowered and cramped seats installed by Southwest.