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Delta offers buyouts
Two packages to be offered as airline moves swiftly to shrink.
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Delta Air Lines on Friday offered voluntary buyouts to both Delta and Northwest Airlines employees, but management did not say how many jobs it wants to cut as it shrinks the airline early next year.
"To deal with the effect of the recession, we are moving quickly and decisively to decrease systemwide capacity by 6 to 8 percent," Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in a Friday memo to employees.
Delta acquired Eagan-based Northwest in late October.
Anderson and Northwest CEO Ed Bastian said two buyout programs will be available from Jan. 15 to 31.
One is targeted to employees with 10 or more years of service whose age and service years add up to at least 55. The eligibility for this program has been broadened from earlier this year, when employees had to hit at least 60 in age plus years of service.
A second program is for ground workers and flight attendants who have five or more years of service as well as salaried employees who have a short tenure with either airline.
The terms of the buyout program are expected to be released next week.
Delta and other carriers already have seen signs of weakness in passenger bookings, and Anderson told employees Friday that the airline industry could see revenue drop 8 to 12 percent next year.
Earlier this year, when high oil prices drove up operating costs, Delta cut more than 4,100 jobs and Northwest cut 2,500 through voluntary programs.
Despite the bad economic times, the Delta-Northwest merger is moving forward. On Friday, Delta said that the first Northwest airplane has been painted in Delta's color scheme. It took 12 days of work and 146 gallons of paint to transform the Boeing 747, which will reenter service next week for flights to Asia.
Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709
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