ATLANTA — Southwest Airlines is offering buyouts and extended leaves of absence to airport workers to avoid what it calls “overstaffing in certain locations,” which it blames on a shortage of new planes from Boeing.

The move on Monday comes as a hedge fund presses Southwest to increase profits and boost the stock price, which has fallen sharply since early 2021.

According to Bloomberg, the new buyout and extended leave offers are going to workers at airports in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Baltimore, Detroit and Cleveland. Other cities include Buffalo, New York; Corpus Christi, Texas; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Florida; and Burbank, Long Beach, San Jose and Santa Ana, California.

Bloomberg reported the carrier stated earlier in 2024 that it would slash flights in Atlanta and trim operations at other cities as it sought to eliminate unprofitable routes. Those changes affected 200 Atlanta flight attendant jobs and 140 pilot positions.

All the targeted jobs are in ground operations, including customer service agents, baggage handlers and cargo workers. Pilots and flight attendants are not included in the buyout offer, the spokesperson said.

Southwest officials have said that the Dallas-based airline plans to end this year with 2,000 fewer workers than it started. That is after Southwest grew from 66,600 to nearly 75,000 employees last year. The figures count part-timers as one-half.

“Southwest has reduced overall capacity to meet demand with a constrained fleet due to aircraft delivery delays,” the company said in a statement. “Offering voluntary separation and extended time off to contract and noncontract employees, along with continued slowed hiring, will help us avert overstaffing in certain locations.”

Bloomberg contributed to this article.