Southwest Offers Employee Buyouts

Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co. offered voluntary buyout packages to most of its employees as the industry struggles to battle high fuel prices.

The No. 6 U.S. airline said employees who had worked at the carrier for at least a year -- 33,000 of its 34,000 workers -- were eligible for the buyout.

A spokeswoman said the company had not set a limit on the number of workers it would accept for the buyout program. Southwest has never laid off workers in its 32-year history.