Delta to cut 1,000 jobs
Layoffs to hit managers, administrative staff; cutbacks part of bankrupt airline's wider restructuring plan.
NEW YORK (CNN) - Delta Airlines acknowledged Wednesday that 1,000 managerial and administrative employees will be let go, as the company attempts to rebuild under bankruptcy protection. A spokeswoman said the company announced the cutbacks internally this week, after having said publicly back in September that as part of cost-cutting and restructuring measures, Delta would be laying off anywhere from 7,000 to 9,000 employees.
The 1,000 layoffs will include a wide range of Delta workers, from secretaries to general mangers, the company said. Delta confirmed that one of the more senior people leaving the company amid the layoffs is Paul Matsen, the airline's marketing chief. In the September announcement, Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said the company would undergo a "transformation" that would save Delta "in the near-term, so it can compete and win in the long-term." As part of that transformation, the airline would lay off 7,000 to 9,000 employees by the end of 2007 and reduce pay at all levels of management. Delta is currently in the midst of an arbitration battle with its pilots over their contracts, related to proposed wage cuts. The panel is expected to reach a decision by April 15 on whether the airline can void its current contract with the pilots. -- from CNN Assignment Editor Jonathan Schienberg ----------- Airlines are getting ready to climb out of the red. Click here. |
|