Delta to cut up to 9,000 jobs

Delta to cut up to 9,000 jobs    Delta Air Lines, who last week filed for bankruptcy, said Thursday it will cut up to 9,000 jobs as part of its restructuring plan.
   The Atlanta-based airline said it aims to lower costs by $3 billion a year by the end of 2007, in addition to a previous cost-savings target of $5 billion a year by the end of 2006. It plans to achieve the extra cost savings by improving revenue and network productivity, as well as through “more competitive employment costs.”
   Delta said components of its proposed employment changes include:
   * Eliminating 7,000 to 9,000 jobs systemwide by the end of 2007.
   * Reducing pay at all levels of management, including a 25 percent pay reduction for chief executive officer Gerald Grinstein; a 15 percent reduction for officers; and a 9 percent reduction for supervisory and other administrative personnel.
   * Reducing pay scales by 7 to 10 percent for most frontline employees, excluding those earning less than $25,000 annually.
   Delta said it will restructure its network by increasing its international capacity by 25 percent next year, while reducing domestic mainline capacity by 15 to 20 percent.
   “Delta will move quickly and decisively to do what is necessary to beat our competitors and meet our financial commitments, and this means we will become a smaller, more cost-efficient airline, with a strengthened network and a stronger balance sheet,” Grinstein said.
   Northwest Airlines, who filed for bankruptcy on the same day as Delta, earlier this week said it will lay off 1,400 flight attendants by January, and is negotiating pay cuts with employee groups.