Delta, which took over rival Northwest Airlines last year, said it expects about 2,000 staff to opt for an early retirement programme as it aims to trim capacity as much as 8 per cent this year.
The latest move by the world's biggest airline highlights a trend among major airlines fighting for profits as global economic recession weighs on passengers' travel budgets.
In December, Delta, which has about 75,000 staff worldwide, said it would offer employees severance packages, but it didn't say how many jobs it aimed to cut.
"We are expecting a number of around 2,000 because the capacity reduction is going to be around 6 to 8 per cent," Delta CEO Richard Anderson told reporters on the sidelines of a media briefing in Tokyo.
"We will know more towards the end of this month, because we gave employees a wide window so that they can make the right decision."
In March 2008, Delta announced 2,000 job cuts and offered voluntary severance packages. More than 4,000 workers took advantage of the packages. Prior to the merger, Northwest trimmed its staff by about 2,000 workers.
Major airlines, battered by sagging travel demand and losses on fuel hedging costs, have been working to bolster their profitability by cutting capacity and finding new revenue streams. Capacity reductions affect the number of seats for sale and are achieved by cutting flights or replacing large planes with smaller ones.
Japan Airlines plans to cut about 10 per cent of its total workforce by end of March while Singapore Airlines is reportedly planning to ask its cargo pilots to take unpaid leave as the carriers face tough operating conditions.
Atlanta-based Delta said last month its domestic capacity would fall 8 per cent to 10 per cent in 2009, and international capacity would fall 3 per cent to 5 per cent as travel demand wanes. Systemwise, that would mean a reduction of 6 to 8 per cent.
Mr Anderson told reporters today Delta expects a 10 per cent decline in industry revenue this year as the economic slowdown hits travel demand, taking revenue to where it was after the September 11th attacks in 2001.