Alaska Air Group ALK on Tuesday said it would hire more than 3,500 new employees this year, as it bulks up its fleet with new jets. The openings are largely for positions at the airline’s hubs in Seattle and Portland, and elsewhere along the West Coast, the company said in a statement. Alaska said it planned to hire roughly 550 pilots, 1,000 flight attendants and 1,000 customer service agents, with management, technicians and and other positions rounding out the rest. The openings arrive as the airline industry tries to hire more staff, after employee departures during the pandemic in 2020 and a travel rebound in 2022 left airlines thinly staffed, creating significant flight and service disruptions. Alaska Air Group stock was up 2.9% on Tuesday. Shares have fallen 15% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 Index SPX is down around 16% over that time.
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