MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines' CEO on Monday repeated his pledge to keep flying through a strike as the carrier called a wage cut offer from its mechanics inadequate.
Mechanics reversed months of tough talk on Friday and said they'd consider wage cuts. Northwest is seeking $1.1 billion in annual labor concessions, but so far only pilots have agreed to cuts.
Mechanics told Northwest ''that we understand the serious state of the company and the industry, and have expressed our willingness to share in the burdens necessary to meet the situation,'' Jeff Mathews, contract coordinator with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, wrote in a negotiations update on Friday.
Stock sales by Northwest board members, downgrades of the airline's bond ratings, and Northwest's large pension shortfall ''indicate to us that a bankruptcy filing may be imminent,'' Mathews wrote.
Chief Executive Doug Steenland has said Northwest could be forced into bankruptcy if it doesn't get labor concessions.
On Monday, Steenland repeated his pledge to keep flying through a strike.
''Let me be perfectly clear that if that happens, we will maintain the reliability of our schedule. We have comprehensive plans in place to be ready for any contingency,'' he said in a recorded message to employees.
Last month, Eagan-based Northwest asked to be released from talks with the mechanics, saying they weren't acknowledging the need for cuts. The National Mediation Board pressed for further talks, and the parties met again last week.
AMFA said it offered cuts it calculates at $143.5 million. It has said Northwest wants $176 million in savings from mechanics.
''We are disappointed with the AMFA proposal because it falls short of the savings required for Northwest Airlines to achieve $1.1 billion in permanent labor cost reductions,'' the company said.
Both sides have made strike preparations, although AMFA has not held a strike vote.
''We explained to the company that they have done so much damage to our members that many of them now prefer a stroke or bankruptcy as alternatives to voluntary sacrifices,'' Mathews wrote.
Negotiations are set to resume July 5.
Northwest Airlines Corp. and other carriers have been hammered by high oil prices, which rose 70 cents on Monday to $60.54 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Steenland said every $1 increase costs Northwest $50 million a year. He said the airline's fuel costs in the second quarter are now expected to be more than 50 percent higher than during the same period last year.
Northwest shares fell 41 cents to close at $4.51 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
