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Mean One, Mr. Grinch: Delta Cancels Executive Bonuses for '03
Aired December 24, 2003 - 06:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well time for a little 'Business Buzz' now. It's that time of year when employees are checking their stockings for holiday bonuses. Well one company has shocked its executives with not even a lump of coal.
Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq market site in New York with a story on that -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Fredricka.
Delta Airlines executives may be calling their new chief executive Mr. Scrooge this year. The nation's third largest airline reportedly opted to fly right over bonuses this year. Its executives found out the news in a memo from its new chief Gerald Grinstein sent out on Tuesday. And according to the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Delta is not going to pay performance bonuses to its top executives this year.
Now this is a big contrast to last year. Delta paid 60 of its top brass a grand total of over $17 million in 2002, despite the company's annual loss of $1.3 billion. Really this is a whole revamping of Delta. The tightening comes after Delta asked its pilots to take pay cuts. Of course Gerald Grinstein is going to take over as Delta's chief executive officially on January 1, replacing Leo Mullin, who unexpectedly retired earlier this month. So desperate times or I should say cost-tightening times call for measures like this, Fredricka, so we'll be watching Delta stock today.
WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, tightening the belt.
All right, Carrie, well let's talk about the futures. I imagine mad cow reports of the one case in the U.S. might certainly have an effect, at least on some of the fast food industry.
LEE: You know it really is. In fact, we're checking McDonald's, down over 4 percent in the early going. In Europe that stock is taking a hit. Overall, we are expecting a bit of a weak open. Futures looking flat to slightly weak. Of course yesterday the Dow hit a new 19-month high. That's been the case for six days in a row. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 all gaining a little bit of ground. We'll see if we see a little bit of a pullback this morning -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Carrie Lee, thanks very much from New York.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
'03>
Aired December 24, 2003 - 06:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well time for a little 'Business Buzz' now. It's that time of year when employees are checking their stockings for holiday bonuses. Well one company has shocked its executives with not even a lump of coal.
Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq market site in New York with a story on that -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Fredricka.
Delta Airlines executives may be calling their new chief executive Mr. Scrooge this year. The nation's third largest airline reportedly opted to fly right over bonuses this year. Its executives found out the news in a memo from its new chief Gerald Grinstein sent out on Tuesday. And according to the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Delta is not going to pay performance bonuses to its top executives this year.
Now this is a big contrast to last year. Delta paid 60 of its top brass a grand total of over $17 million in 2002, despite the company's annual loss of $1.3 billion. Really this is a whole revamping of Delta. The tightening comes after Delta asked its pilots to take pay cuts. Of course Gerald Grinstein is going to take over as Delta's chief executive officially on January 1, replacing Leo Mullin, who unexpectedly retired earlier this month. So desperate times or I should say cost-tightening times call for measures like this, Fredricka, so we'll be watching Delta stock today.
WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, tightening the belt.
All right, Carrie, well let's talk about the futures. I imagine mad cow reports of the one case in the U.S. might certainly have an effect, at least on some of the fast food industry.
LEE: You know it really is. In fact, we're checking McDonald's, down over 4 percent in the early going. In Europe that stock is taking a hit. Overall, we are expecting a bit of a weak open. Futures looking flat to slightly weak. Of course yesterday the Dow hit a new 19-month high. That's been the case for six days in a row. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 all gaining a little bit of ground. We'll see if we see a little bit of a pullback this morning -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Carrie Lee, thanks very much from New York.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
'03>
