US Air says Delta workers a priority after deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc. (LCC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would focus on employee concerns once it reaches a takeover deal with bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. DALRQ.PK, a top US Airways executive said on Tuesday.

US Airways, which made an unsolicited $8.6 billion offer for bankrupt Delta on November 15, has so far met resistance from Delta's management as well as its employees, who want the carrier to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stand-alone airline.

Delta's pilot union and the Delta Board Council, which represents some 40,000 nonunion employees, have expressed doubts about the US Airways offer, with some fearing that savings in a merged airline could come at their expense.

"At some point we would like to sit down and talk to them," US Airways President Scott Kirby told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington. "Uncertainty creates worry."

Delta employees have already seen pay and job cuts as the No. 3 U.S. carrier has reorganized operations under bankruptcy protection since September 2005.

With Delta planning to exit Chapter 11 in the first half of next year, US Airways is seen as an outsider trying to usurp all the hard work, an employee representative has said.

US Airways says a merger would provide annual savings of $1.65 billion -- achieved partly through a 10 percent cut in capacity -- and create a stronger airline, which is better overall for the employees.

The No. 7 U.S. airline has said that any labor reductions would be achieved through attrition and voluntary leaves of absence.

"The synergies are not coming at the expense of employees at all," Kirby said. "We don't anticipate any furloughs."

US Airways has proposed taking any merged employee groups to the highest pay scale among them in a combined airline, even though it will reduce the benefits from a merger, Kirby said.

"It's not an expense that we will ask employees on either side to bear," Kirby said. "The reality is it creates a much more financially secure, stable airline, where if you want to have a 20-year career, you can feel comfortable."