Delta plans to drop more than 1,900 pilots in October

Delta Air Lines will lay off 1,941 of its pilots in October, unless it reaches a cost-cutting agreement with the employees’ union, the airline said on Monday.

U.S. airlines that have agreed to $ 25 billion in federal aid are barred from cutting jobs until September 30.

“We are six months into this pandemic and only 25% of our revenue has been recovered,” said John Laughter, senior vice president of flight operations at Delta in a note to pilots, which was seen by CNBC. Laughs said the airline doesn’t expect demand to pick up quickly.

This summer, Delta notified 2,558 of its pilots of the potential time off. The number was lowered by more than 1,800 pilots who took early retirement packages, but Laughter warned that was not enough to avoid time off altogether.

“With around 11,200 active pilots still on the list after September 1 [voluntary early retirement] departures, we are simply overloaded with staff and we are faced with an incredibly difficult decision, ”he wrote. Laughs said letters would be sent this week to pilots hired on or after July 17, 2017.

Delta said last month that the remaining pilots could avoid time off altogether with a 15% reduction in minimum wage.

The Air Line Pilots Association, Delta’s pilots union, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Laughs said the company will need around 9,450 pilots for the summer of 2021, “which we believe will be the peak of flight for the next 12-18 months.”

Separately, Delta said its chief operating officer, Gil West, plans to retire at the end of September after 12 years with the Atlanta-based airline. West started shortly before Delta’s merger with Northwest in 2008 and was appointed Delta’s COO in 2014.

West also led several ancillary activities at Delta, including its aircraft maintenance unit, which the airline has expanded in recent years, Delta said in a press release Monday.