Delta moving MSP-based Delta Connection operation to Atlanta

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's largest carrier is moving its entire Delta Connections operation to Atlanta, where Delta Air Lines is based.

Delta Connection – the brand name for the group of regional service providers that fly to smaller markets on behalf of Delta – will be transitioning to Atlanta at the end of the summer season, the Pioneer Press reports, along with its 40 employees.

The Twin Cities employees manage finance, operations and legal relationships with the contracted carriers, KSTP notes.

In a memo to Delta employees earlier this month, which was circulated to the media Wednesday, Delta Connection says the move "will result in considerable opportunities for improved collaboration and integration with Delta's mainline operation."

Delta says it will aid the 40 employees as they make their decision to relocate or find other opportunities within the airline, the Pioneer Press notes.

Since Delta purchased Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines in 2009, it has relocated hundreds of its Twin Cities-based employees to its headquarters and other markets.

Following the merger, Delta pledged to keep at least 10,000 employees in Minnesota until 2016 – a Delta spokesman told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal the airline now has "several thousand" employees based here.