No employees at Salt Lake City International Airport will be laid off as result of Delta Air Lines' pending merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta CEO Richard Anderson said Friday.

"The (Salt Lake City) hub is important to Delta today and will be an important part of the combined airline after we close the transaction toward the end of the year," the chief executive officer said.

Anderson and Delta chief financial officer Edward Bastian paid a visit to Salt Lake City today to meet with government leaders and airport officials to discuss the merger and respond to questions about how it will affect the airline's Western hub.

"We have been enormously encouraged, both in terms of where we are today with the airlines and the Salt Lake City hub and what the opportunities for us are in the future," Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said.

Becker, Salt Lake City Councilman Carlton Christensen and representatives from the governor's office and airport were reassured during a 45-minute meeting with Delta brass Friday morning that local furloughs will not be a consequence of the transaction.

Delta and Northwest on Monday jointly announced their intentions to merge, along with plans to keep open all existing hubs. If the merge receives Department of Justice approval and OKs from shareholders, the new Delta would be the world's largest airline.

Forecasts from Delta officials and elected leaders call for blue skies in Salt Lake City upon the merger's completion.

"From our conversations this morning, the future looks very bright for this relationship," Jason Perry, director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said during a press conference following the meeting at Becker's office.

---

E-mail: jpage@desnews.com