In a move increasingly typical of a flailing national airline industry, Northwest Airlines has announced that it will cut 2,500 jobs due do the high costs of fuel. Pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other employees will all be affected by the cuts. The first step for the company will be to offer voluntary buyouts, with layoffs coming only if the job cut quota is not met voluntarily. The airline had previously announced that it would ground some of its planes, also in an effort to combat the high costs of fuel. Finally, the airline will implement the same $15 fee for the first checked bag that has been increasingly popular on other airlines.
See "Citing Fuel Costs, Northwest Plans to Cut 2,500 Jobs", Micheline Maynard, The New York Times, July 9, 2008