Delta Air Lines Inc. will take a charge of as much as $3.3 billion to cover the costs of early retirement and voluntary separation plans for employees, as the carrier scales back operations amid a plunge in travel.
The charge will be recorded in the third quarter and most workers will leave Aug. 1, the Atlanta-based carrier said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. At least 17,000 employees have signed up for the plans, excluding pilots who have additional days to decide. As much as $600 million of the amount will be in cash payments.
The third-quarter charge could be as low as $2.7 billion, Delta said. Another 45,000 workers have taken voluntary unpaid leave, helping the carrier to reduce operating expenses last quarter by 53%.
Delta advanced 4.8% to $27.36 at 9:42 a.m. in New York amid a broad stock rally spurred by optimism about potential vaccines for the novel coronavirus.
The company reported a record quarterly adjusted loss of $2.8 billion on Tuesday after revenue tumbled 91%.