AirTran wants to cut employee pay

ATLANTA - AirTran says it wants to cut its overall employee pay by about ten percent to help offset soaring fuel prices. And it warns that it may need to cut wages even more in the future.

Chief Executive Bob Fornaro has written a memo to employees saying the Orlando, Florida-based carrier has already reduced capacity by 15 percent, raised $150 million in cash by selling stock and raised ticket prices and fees. But he says that's not enough to deal with the impact of oil prices that have doubled in the last year.

He said the plan to reduce overall pay rates will require reductions in every AirTran employee's base pay rate.