announced in the United States this week.

And the only cuts affecting Bermuda have been recent discounts in prices of flights between the US and the Island.

Relieved staff at the local Delta Office, on Front Street, have been told the cuts are unlikely to be felt in Bermuda.

Delta said it will cut 12,000 to 15,000 jobs in an effort to lower its annual costs by about $2 billion by mid-1997.

Delta said the job cuts represent a 16 to 20 percent reduction in its staff.

It expects that layoffs will be necessary.

Local manager Ms Jackie Zuill said: "It is very unlikely that Bermuda will be affected by the staff and personnel cutbacks.

"The company hopes to make these cuts through natural staff reductions like attrition, enhanced retirement programmes and the employee assistance programme.

"I am not saying that down the road all this will change. I hope it will not.

"What the company realises is that there must be no halfway or temporary measures to improve quality.'' Delta chairman Mr. Ronald Allen said: "To compete, Delta must bring its costs down permanently so that we can both meet customer expectations and reach our goal of sustained profitability. Temporary or half-way measures won't work.

"Delta intends to become a high-value airline for our customers everywhere we fly, and do it profitably.'' Delta provides daily flights to Bermuda from Boston and Atlanta.