All In The Name Of Cost Cutting

One legacy carrier -- Northwest Airlines, still in the throes of bankruptcy -- is still in the process of cutting jobs. Now comes word that many of those jobs will be filled by outside contractors.

"As a result of Northwest's company-wide effort to reduce annual labor costs by $1.4 billion and its ratified agreement with ... IAM [the International Association of Machinists], which represents ground operations employees at the airline, the number of airport locations staffed with Northwest employees will be reduced," a brief statement from the carrier reads.

"This was a choice between bad and worse," IAM District 143 President Robert DePace told the Bismarck Tribune after the terms were accepted. "The sacrifices IAM members have agreed to make are necessary for the carrier's survival, but there is not a guarantee of success."

"In places like Bismarck where there's no big rush, they can afford to hire vendors," he added. "At the bigger airports, there's just too much work."

DePace fears, though, that the cuts will still lead to a lot of turnover... and THAT will lead to passenger complaints when things don't get done or, worse, get done wrong.

Northwest stressed that "the change has no impact on the airline's flight schedule or its presence at airports around the country."

FMI: www.nwa.com, www.iamaw.org