2,000 taking early retirement at Delta

ATLANTA - About 2,000 workers at Delta Air Lines are taking early retirement offers, allowing the company to reduce its staff while it also announced more flight cuts.

Atlanta-based Delta offered early retirement packages in April, including a one-time medical account offer to cover health care in retirement. About 14,000 Delta employees across the United States were eligible. Delta has more than 80,000 employees worldwide. The company did not disclose how many Twin Cities employees opted for early retirement.

The move was part of Delta's efforts to fold employees from Northwest Airlines into its own workforce. Delta acquired Northwest in 2008, but after extended challenges in labor representation elections, it is finally completing the combination of work forces this year.

Northwest employees had their own subsidized retiree medical program, but they will be shifted over to the Delta's system of pay and benefits.

Delta President Ed Bastian said during a presentation at an investor conference Thursday that about 2,000 employees signed up for the early retirement program. The company's goal is to not "backfill" those positions, but instead to reduce its headcount, he said. That will save the company more than $60,000 per person, according to Bastian.

The early retirees will leave at various times, but most are expected to leave the company sometime after the summer travel season.

Last year, Delta laid off about 200 administrative employees after offering buyouts and early retirement that more than 2,000 employees accepted, as the company reduced costs to adjust to the pressures of high fuel prices.

"As it stands today, we have no plans to offer a program like this in the future," Delta spokeswoman Keyra Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Delta said it plans to further cut back international flights, just a day after celebrating the opening of Atlanta's new international terminal with additional gates for growth.

Delta will cut another 5 percent of transatlantic flight capacity due to the weakened euro and the risk of fuel price spikes, according to Bastian. The airline will also cut another 1 to 2 percent of flight capacity in the Pacific region, he said. In total, Delta will cut its flight capacity this year by 3 to 4 percent, deeper than the 2 to 3 percent cuts it previously planned.