It's much too early to know the impact a massive restructuring by Delta

Air Lines will have on the Southside economy, where thousands of the company's

employees live, area officials say.

On Wednesday, Delta Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein announced details

of the long-awaited "Delta Solution," a final effort to keep the

nation's second-largest airline in the air.

Grinstein announced that 7,000 jobs would be cut, pay and benefits would

be reduced and Delta's hub at Dallas-Fort Worth would be closed all

in an effort to save $3 billion in annual costs.

But even that might not be enough to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which

could come as soon as the end of this month if Delta doesn't reach an

accord with its pilots' union over early retirement benefits.

Some national analysts predicted the airline might be forced to shut down

operations completely, a worse-case scenario that would devestate the local

economy but appears unlikely.

More than 3,500 Delta employees live in Fayette County alone, representing

more than 10 percent of the company's Atlanta-area workforce. Among

them are many pilots and top-level managers, who earn an annual average salary

of more than $93,000, according to Brian Cordoza of the Fayette County Development

Authority.

A similar number of employees are believed to live in Coweta County.

Cordoza said Fayette County officials are taking a wait-and-see approach

to Delta's plight.

"We're hoping for the best and preparing for the worst," he

said. "I imagine it will be weeks or months if we will know anything."

The 7,000 job cuts announced will come on top of 16,000 jobs already eliminated

in the past two years, but it was not said Wednesday when or where those

cuts would be made.

More pain might be felt locally if there are severe cuts in Delta salaries

and benefits, particularly if Delta families are trying to meet high mortgage

payments or other obligations like college tuition.

Cordoza said the news that the Dallas hub would be closed - eliminating

230 flights and scores of employees - could be good news for Atlanta,

where the number of flights will increase to more than 1,000 daily. Some

of the Texas employees might conceivably be transferred to Atlanta. The growth

of the Atlanta hub also makes the spectre of widespread local layoffs less

likely.

Cordoza said he and Fayette County Chamber of Commerce President Virgina

Gibbs had already met with Delta officials and representatives of both the

Georgia Department of Labor and the Atlanta Regional Commission to discuss

ways to minimize any negative impact.

Cordoza emphasized, however, that the Development Athority is not a job

placement or employment service.

"A lot of people think that we're the organization that accepts

the resumes and helps people find jobs, but we don't do that," he

said. "We want to provide resources, and that's getting the word

out to those that have lost jobs about where to go and who to call."