Delta to cut capacity, may cut jobs

Delta Air Lines Inc. will trim its capacity by up to 8 percent in 2009 and suggested more jobs cuts are on the way, driven by the global economic slowdown and softening traffic. The Atlanta-based airline revealed the cuts in a memo to its 75,000 employees from Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson and President Edward Bastian. The memo noted domestic capacity would shrink up to 10 percent while international capacity will fall by as much as 5 percent. The declines include the effect of capacity cuts made this year. Executives also said in the memo that Delta (NYSE: DAL) might soon cut more jobs, noting the airline is "analyzing the impact on staffing as it pertains to these capacity reductions and, as in the past, we will offer voluntary programs to adjust staffing needs." Delta in the spring identified about 700 managerial and administrative jobs for elimination and offered buyouts to non-pilot employees in an effort to trim 2,000 jobs, about 3 percent of its work force at the time. The same month that the company offered up the buyouts, it struck a deal to buy Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp., a transaction that closed in late October. Delta executives said the company is realizing "significant benefits" from the deal despite the recession, including moves to connect networks and expand its international presence. "We will remain focused on, and continue to adapt to, the rapidly changing global economy to better align supply with demand," Anderson and Bastian wrote. Delta is the largest carrier flying out of Dayton International Airport.