Alaska Air Group plans about 200 job cuts

Alaska Air Group plans to eliminate about 200 noncontract jobs as higher fuel costs put pressure on its finances, the company said. The reductions include 125 positions in Washington state and 48 in Hawaii, and do not affect frontline, nonmanagement jobs such as pilots, flight attendants and maintenance workers. Chief Executive Ben Minicucci told employees that Alaska Air Group could lose as much as $700 million this year if current conditions persist. He said that would be the company’s first adjusted pretax loss outside the pandemic since 2003. The figure is a conditional forecast, not a reported final result. The company said affected employees will have their last working day on November 13 and continue receiving pay through December 31. They will also receive severance and transition support. The cuts affect less than 1% of the company’s roughly 32,500 employees. In Hawaii, 40 of the 48 affected positions are being eliminated, while eight employees have been offered other roles, according to the company. Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow also told employees that senior leaders Jim Landers and Shelly Parker will retire at year-end, and their positions will be...