Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines on Friday paid out $1.5 billion in profit sharing to employees, including $541 million to its 33,000 employees in Atlanta.

It's the largest employee profit sharing payment in U.S. history, according to Delta CEO Richard Anderson and incoming CEO Ed Bastian in a memo to employees. The payouts amount to 21.4 percent of eligible annual pay, according to the company.

The payouts come after Delta reported a $4.5 billion profit for 2015.

Delta is holding profit-sharing celebrations across its operations Friday, with a 50-foot tall greeting card including the names of the airline's 80,000 employees erected at its headquarters near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

ajc.com

Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi

icon to expand image

Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi

"It is the most important day of the year for Delta," Anderson and Bastian wrote in their memo.

The company gave 14.5 percent pay raises to its employees last year, but is reducing its formula for profit sharing in the future.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Boston Dynamic robots inspect welds duringthe assembly of a IONIQ 5 electric vehicle at the Hyundai Metaplant in Bryan County, GA on Wednesday March 26, 2025.  (Justin Taylor/The Current GA)

Credit: Justin Taylor for The Current GA

Featured

Savannah's Talmadge Bridge sits just downriver from the Georgia Ports Authority cargo ship terminals. The span was recently listed in a NTSB report among those that are at risk for vessel strike following the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez