Delta Air Lines plans to sell two of its facilities in Atlanta as it cuts costs and consolidates operations.
Delta is selling its Atlanta Reliability Center in a deal to close later this summer, and is "aggressively working" to sell its former Delta Technology Building in Atlanta. The Delta Technology subsidiary was folded into Delta more than two years ago to reduce operating costs.
Meanwhile, the airline also is trying to sell the former headquarters of its regional subsidiary Comair in Cincinnati and a building in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Atlanta-based Delta acquired Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines in 2008 and moved many of Northwest's administrative operations from Minneapolis to Atlanta after the merger.
Now, in a further consolidation, Delta is moving its Minneapolis-St. Paul flight attendant training center, pilot training center and flight simulator facilities to Atlanta, as well as consolidating its Minneapolis-St. Paul maintenance engineering and technical support operations in Atlanta.
Because of those moves, Delta said it no longer will need its training center, a building tower and two hangars in Minneapolis.
The positions will move to Atlanta, but Delta said jobs will be available to all employees interested in relocating.
High fuel costs and weak demand are driving Delta to cut its flight capacity by 4 percent this fall, retire 140 planes and offer buyouts and early retirements to employees.
Delta said the consolidation of facilities will start this year and last through 2012. The moves will "remove these surplus assets from our balance sheet," Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in a memo to airline employees.
