Delta's marketing chief is leaving

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc., which is cutting management jobs as part of an effort to reduce corporate overhead by $200 million a year, said Wednesday that its marketing chief is leaving.

Paul Matsen's departure was announced in a message from Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein to employees. Matsen, 46, has been with Delta 12 years.

The airline, which filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 14, said eight days later that it would cut up to 9,000 jobs, and recently it said of those cuts 1,000 would be "merit" positions, which include managers and support staff.

Grinstein told employees that the executive vice president of marketing position will not be filled as part of the airline's streamlining efforts.

Other management changes are expected to be announced in early April, but top officials like Grinstein, Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian and Chief Operating Officer James Whitehurst are not expected to be affected.

Grinstein did not say in his message whether Matsen resigned or was let go, or what his future plans might be.

Meanwhile, the nation's third-largest carrier continues to seek up to $325 million in long-term pay and benefit cuts from its 5,930 pilots. An arbitration panel is expected to rule by April 15 on the carrier's request to reject its pilot contract so it can impose the cuts unilaterally.

The pilots union has said it will strike if its contract is voided. Several hundred pilots plan a major demonstration at the Atlanta airport on Thursday that the union has described as a "practice strike." Service won't be interrupted during the demonstration.