Delta workers celebrate payout of large bonuses
Delta Air Lines is paying $1.4 billion in profit sharing bonuses to its employees this Valentine’s Day, marking the company’s continued financial recovery from the depths of the pandemic.
Employees at the company will get checks equivalent to 10.4% of their eligible earnings — more than a month’s worth of pay.
Atlanta-based Delta brought in a record $58 billion in revenue in 2023, and posted a $4.6 billion profit for the year as millions of travelers took to the skies.
The payout to the airline’s nearly 35,000 employees in Georgia amounts to about $595 million, according to the company. Company-wide, Delta now has more than 100,000 employees — making it larger than its pre-pandemic level of about 90,000 employees.
“Rewarding our people is fundamental to who we are at Delta,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a written statement.
The airline will have workplace celebrations across its system to celebrate the bonuses Wednesday, including an appearance by Bastian at Delta’s Atlanta reservations center.
Delta’s Chief People Officer Joanne Smith in her statement called the profit-sharing payment “a direct result of the hard work and persistence shown by Delta people each day.”
The airline instituted the profit sharing program in 2007, and has made payouts to workers most years since.
This year’s bonuses come as Delta has faced renewed efforts by some unions to organize workers at the largely nonunion airline. Delta has successfully fought off unions for years, in part by offering good pay and bonuses and through its own campaigns.
On Monday, 146 members of Congress signed a letter urging Delta to “adopt a neutrality agreement with regards to any efforts by your employees to unionize and to commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do choose to form a union.”
The letter, signed by co-chairs of the Congressional labor caucus Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Donald Norcross, D-N.J, Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. and others, However, it was not signed by any members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation.
Delta issued a statement saying: ”We firmly believe every employee has the right to choose or reject union representation without interference, and Delta has the right and responsibility to ensure its people can make their choice with an informed perspective.”
“We welcome the dialogue with these members of Congress,” Delta said.