Southwest Airlines: Elliott’s 14.8% Stake, Workforce Cuts, and the Investor Playbook

Inside the activist campaign reshaping Southwest... from mass corporate layoffs to Elliott’s board power, margin reset, and the path to $38.

Elliott Just Took Over Southwest’s Future

One year ago, I told you Elliott’s 10% stake in Southwest Airlines wasn’t passive.

This week, they proved it.

Their latest SEC filing shows 14.8% effective exposure… a level of activist airline ownership rarely seen and highly significant in modern context.

And behind the headlines, my workforce data shows management is already cutting in the exact places Elliott wants: engineering, ops, HR, sales.

This ain’t your typical “airline recovery.”

The question isn’t if Elliott will reshape Southwest. It’s how far they’ll go, and what it means for margins, EPS, and the stock.

The full breakdown including job family losses, Elliott’s 3 levers, and the investor upside case… is all here.