Salaried Employees And Administrative Support Will Be Targeted

Following a $2.1 billion dollar decline in operating revenue in the 2nd quarter, Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson said more job cuts are coming among salaried personnel, which could have a large impact on the company's Atlanta headquarters.

The number of jobs to be cut has not been announced. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that about 2,000 Delta salaried and administrative employees have lost their jobs in the past 18 months. Delta's overall job cuts number about 6,000. Some of those have come from buyouts and attrition.

Delta cites the global recession and the recent swine flu outbreak as the principal reasons for their losses. The company does not see any significant change in its revenue projections in the near term. Anderson said in the coming weeks, Delta will evaluate it's management and administrative structure in an effort to identify areas where savings can be realized. Vendor budgets, marketing, and advertising campaigns will also be curtailed.  “So far, we’ve been able to successfully reduce the number of frontline jobs to match our operations through voluntary programs, but we have to be more aggressive about managing some of our general and administrative costs,” Anderson told the AJC.

Anderson also said the company is closely watching talks between the U.S. and Japan on flights between the two countries. Delta would like to see a easing of restrictions on flights into Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Anderson said flights to Japan might have to be cut if the restriction remain unchanged.

FMI: www.delta.com