Delta Air Lines’ marketing chief Paul Matsen has left the company amid thousands of pending layoffs and a company-wide restructuring effort.
It was not clear whether Matsen, Delta’s Executive VP and CMO, resigned or was let go from his position. Delta spokesperson Gina Laughlin declined to discuss the details, saying only that the company announced Matsen’s departure internally on Wednesday.
Matsen’s position will be not refilled. Instead, Delta’s marketing department will absorb Matsen’s duties and report to COO Jim Whitehurst, Laughlin said. Joanne Smith, Delta’s VP-consumer marketing, will also handle marketing initiatives, she said.
Matsen, a 12-year veteran of Delta, held positions in Delta’s International Group and in the company’s corporate planning department before taking the marketing position.
Delta Air Lines, which filed for bankruptcy last September, plans to cut 1,000 managerial and administrative jobs as part of an effort to restructure. The company said last fall that it would layoff between 7,000 to 9,000 jobs by the end of 2007 to save costs and boost restructuring efforts.
The airline is in the midst of an arbitration battle with its pilots over contracts and proposed wage cuts. Delta is seeking to cut $325 million in long-term pay and benefits from its more than 5,900 pilots. An arbitration panel is expected to rule on the airline’s request to reject the pilots’ contract by April 15.
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