S.L. workers are safe in merger, Delta says

No employees at the 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," said Anderson, who will lead the new airline. About 3,500 Delta employees work in Salt Lake City.

Anderson and Delta chief financial officer Edward Bastian paid a visit to Utah Friday to meet with government leaders, LDS Church officials, employees and airport officials to discuss the merger and respond to questions about how it will affect the airline's western hub.

Delta and Northwest have typically served different markets, and only 12 city pairs are served by both airlines, Bastian said. That means competition in most cities will not be affected and prices will not rise.

Salt Lake City and Minneapolis and Salt Lake City and Detroit are among the 12 city pairs.

"We will be having discussions" about what to do with those flights, Bastian said.

The executives' comments pleased local officials.

Salt Lake Mayor Ralph 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 merger.

"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," Becker said.

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

The Delta executives this week also have visited other Delta hub cities — New York, Atlanta and Cincinnati. In an interview Friday afternoon with the Deseret News, Bastian said that part of the reason for the visits is to talk with employees. During merger talks, Delta was restricted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and its own rules from discussing details with employees.

The executives met with two different groups of employees Friday — employees at the Delta phone reservation center and employees at the airport.