Delta cutting 1,500 flight attendant jobs

Posted 11:38AM on Friday 27th September 2002 ( 22 years ago )

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines will cut 1,500 more flight attendant jobs this fall because of the ongoing slump in the airline industry. Delta officials said the Atlanta-based airline will try to make this round of jobs cuts through voluntary offers. Last fall, about 3,200 flight attendants accepted leaves, early retirement and other offers as part of 10,000 job cuts. "The industry is suffering," Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said Friday. "So it's necessary to reduce our operating costs. We need to match the work force size to the needs of the operation." Delta had previously announced that it would reduce capacity by about 8 percent this fall, about twice the usual seasonal reduction. Sharon Wibben, Delta's senior vice president of in-flight service, told flight attendants about the cuts Thursday in a teleconference. Delta has more than 16,000 flight attendants, a third of whom are based at its Atlanta hub. Delta Chairman and Chief Executive Leo Mullin has said more cuts could be necessary in the future. Besides last year's job cuts and nearly 1,000 pilot furloughs, Delta has cut capital spending, ended flights to six countries and 10 cities, and reduced service on 80 other routes. Despite a better-than-expected rebound in travel demand in the spring, traffic has continued to fall flat and average fares have continued to decline, adding to the industry's losses. Delta joins other major airlines also making cuts this fall, including American, which recently said it will slash 7,000 jobs. This week, Mullin and executives from American, Northwest and AirTran Airways asked lawmakers in Washington for relief from heavy security-related costs and lost revenue. He said costs and lost revenue due to security measures will total about $660 million this year. Analysts estimate Delta will report pretax losses of $1.2 billion this year.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/189626