Talks to Resume Between Northwest, Striking Union

Northwest Airlines Corp. will resume talks with striking mechanics Thursday and demand steeper cuts than those that prompted the workers to walk out.

The announcement by both sides on Wednesday came one day after Northwest told the union it would begin hiring permanent replacements by Sept. 13 unless a deal was reached.

Northwest’s 4,427 mechanics, cleaners and custodians walked out on Aug. 20 rather than accept 25 percent pay cuts and layoffs of some 2,000 workers.

The airline said operations in its two largest hubs, Detroit and Minneapolis, are functioning smoothly with managers and temporary workers. But cleaning and custodial work, along with maintenance at spoke airports “have been permanently transferred to more efficient third party vendors,” Northwest said.