Delta Airlines has informed Sioux City officials it will close its reservation center there on August 31st as part of a corporate restructuring. Sioux City Economic Development Director, Marty Dougherty, says he’s disappointed with the airline’s decision to close this center because it has been the top performer among the company’s 17 centers.
“They have an excellent facility, they have an excellent group of employees here that have been always commended and recognized in the Delta system, and previously in the Northwest system. They just won that award this past year, in the whole system,” Dougherty says. There are around 180 employees at the center and Delta is offering them an option to transfer to other cities or take a severance package.
Dougherty says there may be another option available for those employees. “There is a, what we’ll describe as a third-party company interest in the space — it’s just potential at this time — and they’d be interested actually in also offering positions to the people that are here because of the quality of the workforce that’s here,” Dougherty says.
The Sioux City Delta center is one of four that are being shut down, with the others in Seattle, Tokyo and Bankok. Dougherty says the airline’s decision is unrelated to the city changing air service from Delta to American Eagle. Delta has five years remaining on its building lease.
By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City
