Spirit Airlines took another swipe at its work force with the layoff of 200 nonunion employees as management continues its efforts to downsize the airline and cut some $80 million in annual costs.

“We are executing on plans to rightsize our organization to align with our current fleet size and level of flying and ultimately optimize our airline,” a spokesperson said Thursday. “After reviewing our organizational structure, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 200 positions from various departments across the airline.”

Unlike the telegraphed furloughs of 186 pilots last September and 330 more cockpit crew members to be cut on Jan. 31, the latest round of reductions apparently came as a surprise to workers who reported on social media that security guards entered the company headquarters in Dania Beach and escorted employees out of the building.

Spirit, which is restructuring its business through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in New York, advised employees of the move in a Wednesday letter signed by CEO and President Ted Christie. The reductions cut across multiple departments including operations, leadership, crew training and scheduling and adminstrative support.

“As you all know, we’re facing significant challenges with our business,” Christie wrote. “The bottom line is, we need to run a smaller airline and get back on better financial footing.”

The plan for a smaller airline was largely dictated by a combination of factors: a manufacturers engine recall on multiple Airbus jetliners operated by the airline, the sale of roughly two dozen older jetliners to raise cash and pay down debt and a major recaliberation of Spirit’s route system as it jockeyed for business with aggressive rivals.

Cost reduction target achieved

Spirit had employed 12,800 people on its payroll before it filed for Chapter 11 last November. Most are unionized. The people dropped from the roster this week are nonunion.

“While we will continue to identify additional operational efficiencies, these efforts, along with our recent pilot furloughs, achieve our previously announced target of $80 million of annualized cost reductions,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “These decisions are never made lightly, and we are committed to treating all impacted Team Members with the utmost care and respect.”

It was not immediately clear how the loss of support jobs would impact the airline’s operations. Last December, the airline announced it operated more than 5,200 flights during Thanksgiving week, with a completion factor of 99% and improvements in arrivals within 14 minutes of scheduled times.

Spirit has said it plans to exit Chapter 11 before the end of its first financial quarter in March.