Delta Seeks to Lose Another 3,000 Workers : Airlines: The nation’s No. 3 carrier will offer early retirements in an effort to reach goal of cutting 10% of work force.

Delta Air Lines on Monday offered a voluntary early-retirement program to about 3,000 employees as part of an effort to cut costs and return to profitability.

The Atlanta-based carrier, the nation’s No. 3 airline, has already reduced employment by 6,200 workers since last year. It said the program could cost as much as $210 million if all 3,000 workers participate.

However, Delta expects only 1,000 workers to take early retirement, and the company says the program’s expense would be recovered within two years through cost savings and higher productivity.

“It’s going to be costly, but it shows a willingness to come to grips with the problems,” said John Stodden, a transportation analyst at Duff & Phelps/MCM, a Chicago-based investment research firm.

On Wall Street, Delta shares rose 50 cents to close at $52.375 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Last year, Delta announced plans to reduce its work force by 10%. So far, it has reduced employment by about 8% to 75,000, and the current early retirement program should “put us very close to that 10% goal,” said spokesman William Berry.

Delta, along with other major U.S. airlines, has been cutting costs and operations in the face of weak demand and intense competition. Domestic airlines as a whole have lost more than $10 billion in the last three years. In addition, Delta has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in its European operations, most of which were bought from now-defunct Pan American World Airways in December, 1991.

Delta, American and United will be under continued pressure to reduce operating costs as second-tier competitors such as Northwest, Continental and Trans World Airlines have dramatically reduced their own costs, industry analysts say.

Delta said employees who take early retirement must leave the company by this fall. The airline estimated that it will write off $70,000 for each employee who participates in the program.

“This makes a lot of sense. If they’re going to cut capacity and streamline operations, a very sensible way to do it is through early retirement,” said Jon Ash, managing director of Global Aviation Associates Ltd. in Washington.