What??? Pinnacle promised to do one thing, and then went back on their word and is screwing people out of jobs? Why, that's never happened before!

Mesaba to close its Eagan headquarters, cut 193 jobs

• Article by: STEVE ALEXANDER , Star Tribune
• Updated: October 21, 2011 - 6:06 PM

Despite promises to the contrary, Mesaba Airlines will permanently close its Eagan headquarters Dec. 26 at the behest of owner Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines. Both airlines are regional carriers for Delta Airlines.
In the process, Pinnacle will cut 193 Mesaba jobs in Eagan, out of a total of about 800 Mesaba jobs in Minnesota. The closing of Mesaba headquarters and the number of workers affected was disclosed Friday in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter to the mayor of Eagan dated Oct. 14.
It remains unclear whether some of those employees will get other jobs with Pinnacle in Memphis, said Pinnacle spokesman Joe Williams Friday. That will be resolved by the end of the year, he said.
Pinnacle flatly declared Mesaba headquarters would remain in Eagan under its own management in a July, 2010, press release. But on Friday, Williams said that closing the headquarters "was the plan from the beginning."
The headquarters closure follows the appointment earlier this month of Mesaba operating chief John Spanjers, based in Eagan, to be the next Pinnacle chief operating officer, based in Memphis.
Founded in 1944, Mesaba is the longest-flying regional airline in the United States. Delta Airlines sold it to Pinnacle Airlines for $62 million last year.
While Pinnacle will keep alive the Mesaba corporate name, Mesaba will henceforth be headquartered in Memphis.
Remaining in the Twin Cities will be the Mesaba training facility in Eagan, and the Mesaba pilot group and maintenance organization at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Williams said.