ATLANTA_A day after exiting bankruptcy protection, Delta Air Lines Inc. gave about 40,000 employees lump-sum payouts Tuesday equal to 8 percent of their 2006 earnings.
The checks for the 39,000 non-contract employees and 1,000 management employees would average $3,250 (€2,389) based on the number of people receiving them and the total amount distributed, which was $130 million (€95.5 million).
Atlanta-based Delta said the actual amount employees received would vary. A spokeswoman said the minimum payout a person received was $1,000 (€735), and that was likely for working for the airline only part of last year.
The cash payouts follow deep pay and benefit cuts that Delta employees were hit with during the company's 19 1/2-month restructuring, which was completed Monday.
On Thursday, non-contract employees and management employees will receive equity payouts in the form of new shares in the company. Delta's new stock begins trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange the same day. Its old shares were canceled.
The total equity stake the non-contract employees will get is an estimated $350 million (€257 million). The nation's third-largest carrier is giving 1,200 management employees an equity stake valued at $240 million (€176 million).
The average equity payout for non-contract employees would be about $8,974 (€6,596), while the average for management employees would be $200,000 (€147,005). Delta noted that the actual value of the equity stake for individual employees would vary and could change based on stock price fluctuations.
The stock awards for non-contract employees can be cashed out immediately, while the awards for managers vest over time. Also, some pieces of the management awards will require Delta to meet specific performance goals for them to have any value.
Outgoing Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein has declined all management equity awards, incentive payments and severance that he might otherwise be entitled to post-bankruptcy.
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Delta Air Lines Inc.: http://www.delta.com
