Delta Airlines has again offered a retirement incentive to its pilot staff this year, a tactic that helped them to let go off 4,000 employees voluntarily last year. This time around, over 9,000 of Delta's remaining 12,000-plus pilots qualified for the program, though only a small portion decided to undertake it. 215 pilots have at this time agreed to the incentive package, which coulc offer them up to nine months of severance pay, and several other extended benefits. The Delta pilots union, a branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, has said that the 215 pilots have until the end of July to revoke their decision - after July 31, they cannot change their minds. It is unclear how the union feels about the pilots' decision.
See "Union says 215 Delta pilots opt for retirement", Reuters, July 16, 2009