Southwest Airlines CEO says unvaccinated employees won't lose their jobs, despite a federal mandate

* Southwest's CEO said the airline won't fire unvaccinated staff - an apparent softening of its stance.

* The airline said in early October that staff need to be fully vaccinated "to continue employment."

Southwest Airlines will not fire unvaccinated employees despite a federal vaccine mandate, CEO Gary Kelly said on Thursday.

President Joe Biden announced in September that federal contractors, including staff who work for airlines that carry out business with the government, must ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8.

Southwest was among a number of airlines that earlier this month announced unvaccinated employees could risk losing their job as a result of the mandate. On Thursday, Southwest toned down their previous statements.

"We're not going to fire anybody who doesn't get vaccinated," Southwest CEO Kelly said in the carrier's third quarter earnings. "Nobody is going to lose their job on December the 9th if we're not perfectly in compliance."

Kelly described it as a "work in progress" and said that Southwest expected to continue "working in good faith to meet the requirements of the executive order."

Southwest said October 4 that workers would need to be fully vaccinated by November 24 "to continue employment," per Reuters.

Southwest told staff on Tuesday that those who choose not to get vaccinated because of a medical or religious exemption won't be forced to take unpaid leave come December 8, CNBC reported.

A Southwest spokesperson told Insider: "While Southwest encourages every Employee to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, the airline does not intend to lose any Employee over the vaccination mandate."

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Tweets mentioned:

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