Delta is laying off some of its management and corporate staff, as first reported by CNBC. The Atlanta-based airline joins a very short list of carriers who have cut jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 recovery. The U.S. airline industry employs over 760,000 people, per 2022 U.S. BTS data.
According to the CNBC report, the layoffs only extend to corporate and management staff members, not frontline workers. The airline did not specify departments or the number of layoffs, instead calling it a “small adjustment.”
“While we’re not yet back to full capacity, now is the time to make adjustments to programs, budgets and organizational structures across Delta to meet our stated goals — one part of this effort includes adjustments to corporate staffing in support of these changes,” a Delta spokesperson told CNBC.
Layoffs Despite a Strong Q3
In Q3 2023, Delta posted a $1.11 billion profit, one of the highest among its immediate competitors. On the company’s Q3 earnings call, executives emphasized the continuation of strong domestic and international demand.
“Revenue for the full year is expected to increase 20% over last year, which was the high end of our expectations on steady domestic demand and continued strength in international,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian said in a prepared statement during the call.
Delta employs nearly 90,000 people, per DOT Form 41 Annual Employee Statistics data. Only the company’s pilots are part of a labor union.
In an Instagram story viewed by AirlineGeeks, an anonymous poster suggested that the layoffs would extend into the communications, marketing, and possibly more departments. However, this has not been verified. Often characterized as ‘management’ in the airline industry, the term can refer to non-unionized corporate staff.
