Georgia House Republicans Pass Bill to Punish Delta Airlines After CEO Criticizes GOP’s Voter Suppression Law

The Georgia State House passed a bill that would eliminate tax breaks for Delta Airlines for jet fuel. The vote was 97-73 and moves onto the state Senate.

In a memo Wednesday, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told employees that Georgia’s new voter suppression law was “unacceptable” and “based on a lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He was also joined by Coca-Cola’s CEO, who also called it “unacceptable.”

Atlanta is the home to a major Delta Air hub, and in the past, the company has flexed its muscle in various political arguments. In a feud with the NRA, which is filing for bankruptcy protection, Delta attacked the group after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and faculty. During that 2018 battle, Georgia Republicans eliminated a proposed tax break to the company for being located in Atlanta.

It’s a big risk for Georgia, as Delta is the state’s largest private employer, with 33,000 workers statewide. There are likely other states eager for those jobs and for the Delta hub who might jump to offer the company the same financial benefits.

Microsoft is currently building a large corporate hub in Atlanta. Dealing with the attack on voting rights, the company penned a blog post saying, “It’s not only right but essential for the business community to stand together in opposition to the harmful provisions and other similar legislation that may be considered elsewhere.”

Image by jan buchholtz via Flickr and a CC license