Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) is laying off corporate staff to save costs following rising expenses, including fuel and labour, according to CNBC International.
The airline, which recently reported strong travel demand and a third-quarter profit of USD1.1 billion - up nearly 30% from a year earlier - is making "small adjustments" to corporate and management positions, a spokesman told NCBC and Reuters in an emailed statement. Front-line workers like pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics are unaffected.
"As Delta plans for 2024 and beyond, we continue evolving our business to better manage costs and set Delta up for success," the airline explained in a statement shared with ch-aviation. "We heavily invested in our business to manage the rapid return of demand for our product over the past few years. While we’re not yet back to full capacity, now is the time to make adjustments to programmes, budgets and organisational structures across Delta to meet our stated goals – one part of this effort includes adjustments to corporate staffing in support of these changes. [...] Delta didn't make any frontline layoffs during the pandemic, and we aren't making them now."
In its third quarter financials, Delta said it expected full-year revenue growth of 20% over 2022, and pre-tax earnings of more than USD5 billion, a near doubling over prior year earnings. Operating expenses of USD13.5 billion included non-fuel costs of USD9.2 billion and fuel expenses of USD3 billion - down 10% year-over-year.
Chief Financial Officer Dan Janki mentioned on an earnings call in October that the company anticipates growth to return to normal next year. He also expected operational reliability to improve, enabling the carrier to optimise its operations by reducing operational buffers and eliminating inefficiencies that arose during an intense rebuilding period after COVID-19. "For the December quarter, we expect non-fuel unit costs to be flat to 2% higher year-over-year as we realise the benefits of scale and efficiency while making investments in our people and operational reliability," said Janki.
