Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines, one of America’s premier airlines, has announced that it is responding to drastically reduced air travel associated with the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
According to a company spokesperson, “As the coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and impact the economy, demand for travel is declining at an accelerated pace daily, driving an unprecedented revenue impact. Cancellations are rising dramatically with net bookings now negative for travel over the next four weeks. To put that in perspective, we're currently seeing more cancellations than new bookings over the next month. The speed of the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen – and we’ve seen a lot in our business. We are moving quickly to preserve cash and protect our company. And with revenues dropping, we must be focused on taking costs out of our business.”
The company will make an overall capacity reduction in the next few months of 40% -- the largest capacity reduction in Delta's history, including the 9/11 response in 2001. The situation is fluid and likely to be getting worse."
In response to the need to preserve capital, Delta has announced the layoff of 800 contract employees, many in technical and support positions, and most of whom were supplied by a third-party contractor, AgileOne. The cuts include parking up to 300 of its aircraft which will dramatically impact flight crews, ground crews, and support employees.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?