Delta Air Lines Bombardier Boeing 757-200 aircraft as seen arriving, on final approach for landing at New York’s JFK John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines, which received billions of dollars in federal aid last year, is paying managerial bonuses ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than $ 100,000 to make up for the wage cuts at the start of last year’s pandemic.
Frontline workers such as flight attendants, pilots and others in non-managerial positions do not receive bonuses.
Last year, Delta cut executives’ wages and also cut thousands of employee hours by 25% to help weather the pandemic’s sharp drop in demand for travel, a policy that has been criticized by some lawmakers. The Atlanta-based airline avoided involuntary leave or job losses, thanks in part to its 18,000 employees, about 20% of Delta’s pre-pandemic workforce, which accepted buyouts and early retirement last year. The carrier posted a record loss of $ 12.4 billion in 2020.
“While all Delta people were affected by the worst year in our history, after an extensive salary analysis of all levels in our organization below the executive level, we identified levels that were disproportionately impacted as a result of last year’s events. years – time-corrected payment, ”Delta said in a statement.
Delta received $ 5.6 billion in federal aid last year as part of a $ 25 billion program passed in March as part of the CARES law banning airlines from cutting staff. The airline expects to receive $ 2.9 billion this quarter as part of an extension of that program that Congress passed late last year, Delta said in a filing last month.
The pilots union criticized the move, first reported Sunday by travel blog View from the Wing, saying it violated the spirit of the CARES law, federal payroll that airlines received last year in exchange for not being involuntary. cutting workers.
“While we are confident that Delta will recover quickly once the country gets through the pandemic, the payment of special bonuses to management while the airline continues to burn cash is premature and inappropriate,” said Chris Riggins, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association. in a statement. “We also believe that the payment of bonuses limited to management is against the spirit of the CARES law. This was an unfortunate and shortsighted decision.”
Delta says it adheres to CARES Act terms, which set limits on top executive pay. The compensation of managers can vary depending on the performance of the company. Delta says it will continue to pay rewards to frontline and other employees for achieving operational goals, but those amounts are lower than the bonuses.
The airline and its US competitors are on track to receive additional federal wage support.
On Friday, the House approved a $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief package, including a third round of federal airline payroll. If the bill passes by the Senate, US airlines will receive $ 14 billion in exchange for keeping employees paid until September 30. U.S. carriers have already received $ 40 billion in payroll in two other coronavirus relief packages.