Northwest to Close Center in Long Beach

Northwest Airlines Corp., expected to report its fourth straight quarterly loss this week, said Tuesday it will close an Atlanta maintenance base and a California reservation center to cut costs.

Northwest will fire about 100 managers at both locations. About 1,450 workers in Atlanta will be laid off or transferred to other plants. About 250 reservation agents in Long Beach will be able to transfer to the airline’s six other centers.

The fourth-largest U.S. carrier lost $264 million in the first half, and analysts expect losses extended into the third quarter as customers cut back on travel amid concerns about terrorist attacks and a slowing economy.

St. Paul-based Northwest plans the first round of layoffs in Atlanta for mid-December and expects to complete the base shutdown by Jan. 31.