Announces Voluntary Separation Program to Help Secure RDU’s Financial Future

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) will begin the New Year with many changes, including the departure of two senior executives and the promotion of an Authority employee into an executive role. The Airport Authority will also say goodbye in January to employees who are taking a voluntary early separation from RDU.

The Airport Authority established a Voluntary Separation Incentives Program (VSIP) as a benefit to employees who qualified based on age and years of service. Eighteen employees have opted to participate in the VSIP, which accounts for about $2.3 million in payroll savings. The departures come at a time when air traffic is down 70% and RDU is operating under a “survival budget” intended to keep the lights on during the global health crisis. In addition to the VSIP, 22 other employees left the Airport Authority in 2020 for a combined savings of around $4 million in future fiscal years. The VSIP will cost about $800,000 this fiscal year to implement.

“The COVID-19 pandemic required us to pursue meaningful, long-term cost reductions due to the steep decline in air travel and resulting loss in airport revenue,” said Michael Landguth, president & CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “Our voluntary separation program benefits employees who participate and lowers the Authority’s operating expenses to protect the airport’s financial health. While we are pleased that the program mutually benefits RDU and program participants, we will greatly miss our team members who have elected to retire or depart the organization.”

Departing and Incoming Executives: Donna Sylver, senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Cleon Umphrey, vice president and chief human resources officer, will retire from the Authority in mid-January. Sylver and Umphrey are among the RDU employees who chose to participate in the VSIP program.

Sylver has served as the Authority’s chief financial officer since 2014, managing the Finance, Risk & Safety, Small Business and Procurement departments during her six-year tenure. She helped doubled the Authority’s liquidity from $210 million to $417 million, reduced its debt by 15%, and created $137 million in savings associated with financing and restructuring projects. Her work to move the Authority toward full cost recovery in rates and charges produced an estimated $21 million increase in annual revenue in 2018. Sylver’s replacement has not been named.

Umphrey began his 25-year career at RDU as the minority and small business officer and joined the Human Resources division in 2000. His leadership was fundamental to the airport’s growth and success over more than two decades of service, including RDU’s days as an American Airlines hub, the 9/11 attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. Umphrey was instrumental in developing the Authority’s award-winning wellness program and his legacy is reflected in RDU’s culture and core values.

Umphrey will be succeeded by Donald Armstrong, who joined RDU’s Human Resources team in 2011 and has served as director of human resources since 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University and holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Additional Cost-Saving Programs: the VSIP program is one of the cost-saving measures put in place this year in response to the weakened demand for air travel. In 2020, the Airport Authority passed the “survival budget” that cut spending by nearly half and deferred $96 million in construction projects. The Authority also saved more than $157,00 in janitorial costs through Operation Clean Sweep (OCS), in which more than 150 employees volunteered a combined 1,800 hours working on tasks including painting, landscaping, picking up litter and making mechanical repairs. OCS kept RDU staff engaged at the height of the pandemic and helped bridge the gap from a period of crisis response to a period of long-term recovery.