As is true at many large companies, Delta (NYSE: DAL) gives pay-outs to senior management if there is a change of ownership and controlling interest in the corporation. Executives who might be pushed out in a merger or takeover are guaranteed a big pay day as they leave. Richard Anderson, the chief at Delta, has said he will waive his package.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the decision "is seen as a good-faith gesture by Mr. Anderson, who took the Delta helm in September, that he intends to remain at the airline well beyond the completion of any deal." It is the kind of largess that is rarely seen in corporate America and it is refreshing.
Mr. Anderson may think there is a good chance of him staying in a merger with Northwest (NYSE: NWA), but that is clearly not guaranteed. One of the biggest problems in a merger would be a fight by labor unions to keep as many jobs as possible as a combined company cuts costs. The unions often point to out-sized management pay packages as a reason that they should retain jobs.
Mr. Anderson has taken that union argument off the table.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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