Southwest Airlines changes are too little too late, activist investor Elliott says

The fund also submitted notices that it’s been moneying advertisements routed at shareholders under the motto “A Stronger Southwest.” As part of its project, which formally started in June, Elliott intends to fire chief executive officer Bob Jordan– who has stated he has no strategies to go silently– and install brand-new board supervisors in order to pursue a critical business review.

Jordan have resorted to entrenchment strategies– supposed ‘poison pills,’ one-off announcements of long-overdue changes, and a hurried, unilateral Board beverage procedure that lacks authenticity. This is not just how business leadership demonstrates confidence in its plans and develops reputation with investors; it is just how failed corporate leaders attempt to maintain their own tasks and perquisites, regardless of the wishes of the business’s components.”

A hedge fund looking for huge changes at Southwest Airlines has intensified its criticisms of the service provider. In a proxy letter to investors submitted Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elliott Management called out Southwest’s recent protective maneuvers that aim to keep control with its current administration team.

“I know from individual experience that investors, when collaborative with leadership, can play a helpful role in driving favorable modification,” he writes. “Yet understanding enduring modification with long-lasting benefits is tough to achieve in this market– and going after a short-term bump in share cost can trigger long-term adverse ramifications for the culture, company, and brand name.

Recently, Southwest itself noted in a safeties filing that it has also begun moneying digital advertisements to advertise its defensive campaign, which enlisted an op-ed from former United Airlines chief executive officer Oscar Munoz.