Delta Air Lines will impose a $200 monthly surcharge from November on employees who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
And from September 30, it will only pay sick pay to Covid sufferers who have been double-jabbed but still get infected.
Chief executive Ed Bastian in a memo to staff: “Beginning November 1, unvaccinated employees enrolled in Delta’s account-based healthcare plan will be subject to a $200 monthly surcharge.
“The average hospital stay for Covid-19 has cost Delta $50,000 per person. This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company.”
He said that, in recent weeks, since the rise of the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant, all Delta employees who have been hospitalised with Covid were not fully vaccinated.
Bastin said 75% of the airline’s staff are vaccinated but he wants the rate to be “as close to 100% as possible”.
Furthermore, effective immediately, unvaccinated employees are required to wear masks in all indoor Delta settings and from September 12, any US employee who is not fully vaccinated will be required to take a Covid test each week while community case rates are high.
The BBC reported US firms are trying a range of approaches to encourage staff to get vaccinated as the delta variant of coronavirus sweeps the country.
“Some companies, such as United Airlines, Goldman Sachs and tech giants Microsoft and Google, have told staff they must be fully jabbed to come into work,” said the BBC.