Faced with a weak economy, dimmer hopes of a merger with northwest Airlines and record fuel prices that are eating up profits, Delta Airlines said Tuesday that it would offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees -- more than half of its workforce -- and cut U.S. capacity by an extra 5 percent.

Executives at Atlanta based Delta said in a memo to employees that the airline's goal is to cut 2,000 front-line, administrative and management jobs through the severance program, attrition and other initiatives.

Courtesy of WashingtonPost.com