Spirit Airlines will cut jobs and slash capacity as part of a restructuring plan, less than a year after emerging from its first bankruptcy, CNBC reported.
In a staff memo seen by CNBC, Chief Executive Dave Davis told employees that the airline would reduce its November schedule, with overall capacity expected to fall by about 25% in 2025. He said the company would concentrate its network on stronger markets in an effort to improve efficiency.
“These evaluations will inevitably affect the size of our teams as we become a more efficient airline,” Davis wrote. He added that union leaders would be consulted in the coming weeks as staff reductions were finalised, CNBC said.
Repeat restructuring
The move marks Spirit’s second bankruptcy-driven restructuring within a year. The Florida-based carrier first sought court protection in early 2025 as losses mounted in the wake of its failed merger with JetBlue Airways. It emerged from bankruptcy in the spring, but its financial performance has remained under pressure.
Between March and June, Spirit reported a net loss of $257 million, CNBC reported. During that period, the company also cut capacity, grounding aircraft and trimming its schedule to reduce costs. The latest measures extend those reductions into the final quarter of the year.
Spirit has already implemented job-related measures, according to CNBC, including furloughs and demotions of several hundred pilots. Some flight attendants have also taken unpaid leave. The scope of the new cuts has not been disclosed, but Davis’s memo suggested further reductions were likely.
Spirit has about 12,000 employees, including nearly 3,000 pilots and 5,000 flight attendants, according to company data cited by CNBC. The job cuts now being discussed with unions could represent one of the airline’s most significant workforce reductions since the pandemic.
Union leaders are expected to press the company for details on severance, redeployment and the potential for voluntary leave schemes. The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents Spirit cabin crew, has previously criticised management for relying on unpaid leave to offset financial pressures.
Pilots, meanwhile, face uncertainty after earlier furloughs. Some have been reassigned to different bases, while others have been demoted to first officer roles. These measures are likely to deepen as the airline reduces its flying schedule.
The restructuring underscores the volatility facing U.S. low-cost carriers, which benefited from strong leisure travel in the immediate post-pandemic years but now face a tougher operating environment. Rising costs, regulatory pressures and shifting consumer patterns are forcing airlines to rethink strategies that once relied heavily on volume.
For Spirit, the challenge is existential. The carrier’s low-cost model was built on high utilisation of aircraft and ultra-competitive fares. Both are harder to sustain with demand softening and the competitive landscape tightening.