Northwest Air to Cut 2,500 Jobs to Blunt Fuel Costs

Northwest Airlines Corp., the carrier being bought by Delta Air Lines Inc., will eliminate 2,500 jobs to counter record fuel costs.

The reductions represent about 8.1 percent of the 31,000- person workforce at Eagan, Minnesota-based Northwest, which said today it will rely first on voluntary steps such as leaves to pare the number of dismissals.

Northwest’s move will boost job cuts at U.S. carriers to about 20,000 as they park 400 jets after an 87 percent surge in jet fuel in the past year. Airlines’ losses may top $13 billion in 2008, the Air Transport Association trade group estimates.

Bloomberg