Delta Air Lines treated so badly by 2015 state legislature – we all should worry (Atlanta: credit, bankruptcy)

[jsvh]

SaportaReport | Delta Air Lines treated so badly by 2015 state legislature – we all should worry

Imagine if a Fortune 100 company were considering relocating its headquarters to metro Atlanta, and that company would employ 33,000 people in Georgia and generate $300 million a year in state and local taxes and fees.

Just imagine how our elected leaders and economic developers would drool and fall all over themselves offering incentives to offer that company.

Now consider this.

Delta Air Lines is a Fortune 100 company that is the top private employer in Georgia – providing jobs for 33,000 people statewide.

When it was coming out of bankruptcy in 2007, Delta had a choice – keep its headquarters in Atlanta or move to Minneapolis.

Richard Anderson, first a director and then CEO, and the board decided to keep the airline based in Atlanta.

Now I’m wondering if he’s second-guessing that decision.

...

Really would be stupid to lose a Fortune 100 HQ and thousands of jobs just because the legislature wants revenge.

[Robbyb03]

Delta isn't going to go anywhere...

[glovenyc]

Some of these short-sighted, narrow minded, local yocal politicians seem to be hell-bent on returning the state of Georgia back to the 1950s...no thanks

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by Robbyb03

Delta isn't going to go anywhere...

I don't see what's stopping them. They still have a large amount of workers in Minneapolis, it would be pretty easy to just reverse the flow and start relocating up there instead keep moving workers down here. A lot of the executives are from there anyways.

Of course another state swooping in with millions of incentives would be hard to turn down if Delta sees this sort of attitude as a new norm for GA.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I don't see what's stopping them. They still have a large amount of workers in Minneapolis, it would be pretty easy to just reverse the flow and start relocating up there instead keep moving workers down here. A lot of the executives are from there anyways.

Of course another state swooping in with millions of incentives would be hard to turn down if Delta sees this sort of attitude as a new norm for GA.

Agreed. Delta could move in a heartbeat.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I don't see what's stopping them. They still have a large amount of workers in Minneapolis, it would be pretty easy to just reverse the flow and start relocating up there instead keep moving workers down here. A lot of the executives are from there anyways.

Absolutely. NW was headquartered there, and MSP is still a major DL hub. I spent 10+ years as a NW programmer up there, and most of the folks I know up in Building J (former NW Data Center next to Unisys MACS) are still there.

I'm sure a lot of folks in the former NW SOC and other buildings are now in ATL, but it could be reversed.

MN had a love/hate relationship with NW, but I think many of the folks who disliked having NW based there are missing it these days.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by jsvh

SaportaReport | Delta Air Lines treated so badly by 2015 state legislature – we all should worry

Really would be stupid to lose a Fortune 100 HQ and thousands of jobs just because the legislature wants revenge.

If Boeing were any indicator with their Texas move, Delta could be next. In fact, outside of having three major hubs, they could shift to something similar in Dallas? The fact remains, for business, Atlanta is 2 hours flight time, or less, from 80% of the US population. Fact, not fiction.

That ALONE creates a rather larger barrier to exit but, like with all tax incentives, probably depends on which state is pulling their pants down the most with tax deferrals and other goodies to make the deal happen. Texas has that mindset and so do a few other states.

Never say never but, it would be hard. If Georgia is willing to stick us for 1 Billion in road improvements, how hard to you suppose it is for them to drop the gavel on say, $400 million in tax deferments/credits/whatever to stay?

It may employ 33,000 but, but quite a few of them are senior, wouldn't be able to move and thus, a great opportunity to save on labor presents itself??? Delta has a fairly significant aging problem. A lot of senior folks working there 20-30 years. Good for them, bad for the balance sheet and if any industry knows about cheapening labor and costs, its the airlines.

Delta is noooooooo exception. I would think the board stays awake at night trying to figure ever creative ways to dump seniority. It's easier than raising your top line and their bonuses probably all but assure I'm right? Take say, 5,000 of the most senior and replace them with "se habla" and voila, stock jumps, senior managers bail and we start all over.....just a matter of time.

Great airline with great problems. The shine could easily get knocked off their cover if they don't do something in the near future. Georgia is in a quandary when it comes to attracting LARGE businesses here....I'm talking like 5,000 plus jobs just for the state.....we need more of "that"....shame we couldn't have figured out a way to lure Boeing or some other huge major mega manufacturer of competitive goods. Good job with Kia and Hyundai but, we need lots and lots of these/those jobs to help pick up the state's changing economy.

Shame to see her go but, it is possible.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by Robbyb03

Delta isn't going to go anywhere...

Funny, I thought the same thing about the Braves. And the Thrashers. Don't discount the ability of another state to find hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to land a "big fish".

[Robbyb03]

So you guys really think a company that made billions in profits is going to up and leave a city because of a $20M fuel tax?!? Atlanta is by far the most profitable airport in the world, it's within a two hour flight of 80% of the U.S. population, it rarely deals with winter weather, it is well established in infrastructure for headquarter operations, et cetera. I don't see it happening at all...

The Braves are still in metro Atlanta and the Thrashers were not supported very well. Delta Air Lines is completely different.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Robbyb03

So you guys really think a company that made billions in profits is going to up and leave a city because of a $20M fuel tax?!? Atlanta is by far the most profitable airport in the world, it's within a two hour flight of 80% of the U.S. population, it rarely deals with winter weather, it is well established in infrastructure for headquarter operations, et cetera. I don't see it happening at all...

The Braves are still in metro Atlanta and the Thrashers were not supported very well. Delta Air Lines is completely different.

I don't see it happening either. But the statement that Mr. Erhart made is borderline asinine.