Spirit Airlines expects to cut its capacity by 25% this November, and is likely to reduce staffing levels further as the troubled budget carrier seeks to return to profitability during a second visit to bankruptcy court, according to a systemwide email sent to employees.

As part of the airline’s efforts to slash costs, management is taking direct aim at labor expenses, and is asking its 3,000 unionized pilots to find $100 million in savings from their contract by Oct. 1, the Air Line Pilots Association confirmed Thursday.

The forthcoming jolt to the workforce and major makeover of Spirit’s route profile is hardly unexpected as management has made it clear it intends to undertake drastic actions to fix cost and related issues that executives said were not resolved during the airline’s f

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