Petters Resignation Puts Finances, Jobs In Jeopardy

Used to relying on short-term loans from its parent company to carry it through slower times, Sun Country Airlines is bracing for the possibility of layoffs or possible closure due to last week's resignation of Petters Group Worldwide CEO Tom Petters.

Federal Investigators have charged Petters with mail fraud and money laundering, in an alleged multi-billion dollar scheme benefiting PGW. Sun Country Airlines, which Petters bought with other investors in 2006, has not been implicated in the investigation, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Sun Country CEO Stan Gladek explained Petters usually helped out during slower months with a short-term loan, sufficient to see the airline through until after the first of the year, when business typically picks up. But with Petters gone, so is the possibility of a loan.

"There are obviously risks that no solution will be found (to the company's financial troubles)," Sun Country said in a notice to its approximately 850 employees on Wednesday. "This is to notify you that should Sun Country not be able to obtain additional financing or obtain relief from our major creditors in the near future there is a distinct possibility that the airline will be shut down and/or you will be furloughed."

Although the notice warns employees this course of action may be taken as soon as December 1, Wendy Williams Blackshaw, a Sun Country spokeswoman, Thursday said "over the past week, we have made progress in negotiating with vendors and identifying additional sources of revenue."

"While Sun Country has no plans to shut down or institute a major layoff, we wanted to be sure we are in compliance with federal law," Williams Blackshaw said. Sun Country emphasized it was sending its notice to employees because the Worker's Adjustment and Retraining Act requires 60 days advance notice to employees of mass layoffs, the Pioneer Press reported.

Assuring Sun Country ticket holders of their protection, Williams Blackshaw explained the airline does not receive funds until the passengers actually fly. Credit card companies retain and "would refund those funds if for some reason any flights were canceled," she said.

Proud of their fleet comprised of environmentally-friendly Boeing 737-800 airliners, Sun Country "offers a great experience from in-flight entertainment to comfy leather seats." Based in the Twin-Cities, Sun Country offers service to 29 destinations in the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

FMI: www.suncountry.com