By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Delta Air Lines has begun offering voluntary 60-day unpaid leaves to its non-union employees in yet another attempt to cut costs.

The Atlanta-based airline, which operates its second-largest hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, earlier this week warned that it would lose money on operations because of slow ticket sales.

The nation's No. 3 carrier, Delta employs about 6,000 workers locally.

The option was presented to non-union employees, who make up most of Delta's workforce, Tuesday in a memo from Robert Colman, the company's executive vice president for human resources.

"Heightened security sensitivities and the unsettled world political environment have contributed to a recent softening in passenger demand," Colman said in the memo. "To preserve our financial stability, we are focused on short-term opportunities to reduce costs."

Workers who take the option will continue to receive all full benefits, including health and travel benefits, but they won't be paid. Deadline to enter the program is March 25.

The airline had not set any goals for numbers of workers it hoped would take the program, Delta spokesman John Kennedy said. But Delta hopes the program would reduce costs enough so that involuntary cuts would not be necessary, Kennedy added.

The airline has already cut about 18,000 total positions since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and is in the process of laying off about 4,000 workers throughout its system. No local numbers have been given.

"We're not ruling anything out ... but we hope the short-term measures are sufficient to help us avoid involuntary reductions," he said.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com