Starting November 1, Delta Air Lines will begin charging employees unvaccinated against coronavirus who are enrolled in the company’s health plan a $200 monthly surcharge to help the company combat costs associated with the spread of Covid-19 among its workforce, CEO Ed Bastian told employees in a Wednesday memo—a pointed move designed to encourage more employees to get vaccinated.
In the memo, Bastian said the surcharge “will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating” for the company, noting that the average hospital stay for Covid-19 has cost Delta $40,000 per person.
The Delta chief also said unvaccinated employees will immediately be required to wear masks indoors until Covid-19 transmission rates stabilize, and beginning September 12, unvaccinated U.S. employees will also be required to take weekly Covid-19 tests.
Bastian stopped short of requiring employees to get vaccinated despite other airlines like United and Frontier having already mandated vaccines.
The company, which employed about 74,000 people last year, says 75% of employees are vaccinated.
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