The cuts announced Thursday would reduce the bankrupt airline's workforce by 17 percent and help Delta save $3 billion.
Delta is also cutting wages, starting with a 25 percent reduction for company chief executive Gerald Grinstein. Lower ranking employees face smaller cuts.
Delta is also cutting scores of aircraft from its fleet, and shifting some other flights from highly-competitive domestic routes to more-profitable overseas destinations.
The job cuts come atop 24,000 layoffs that have slashed Delta's workforce since the 2001 terror attacks that hurt business for major airlines. They have been battling strong competition from budget-price carriers and soaring fuel prices ever since.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Bloomberg and Reuters.