Delta’s profit-sharing payout hits record
Delta Air Lines distributed $1.6 billion in profit-sharing to its 90,000 employees on Friday, a record for any U.S. company.
The distribution has become a Valentine’s Day ritual for Delta in recent years, representing an income boost that, except in the finance industry, is rare to most workers in America. It has also become a moment when unions draw attention to the inequalities in the airline industry, which relies, for some services, heavily on subcontractors that don’t pay their workers nearly as well.
This year’s payout at Delta works out to nearly $17,800 per employee and represented a 16 percent bonus to average worker pay, the airline said.
The pay averages are skewed by the high pay pilots receive, reaching well above $200,000 for the most senior pilots. As a result, most Delta workers receive bonuses that are smaller than the average. All of Delta’s full-time, part-time and “ready reserve” employees qualify for the profit-sharing pool except for its officers and directors, who are paid with incentives based on other measures.
