Employees of Northwest Airlines Corp. are trash-talking their employer after the cash-strapped airline suggested taking items from garbage cans as a way to save money.

"The signal it sends to other members of the organization is that the company doesn't really care about them," human resources consultant Gerry Smith told CTV News.

Other tips included: taking a date for a walk in the woods, getting auto parts at junkyards and having shorter showers.

"The geniuses that run Northwest Airlines are insulting not only our intelligence, but our dignity as well,"' the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said on its website.

The U.S. air carrier has since apologized for publishing the list called "101 ways to save money" and has removed it from the employee website.

"Regrettably, this list, which included some insensitive material, was inadvertently published ... without being reviewed by Northwest management," a company statement said.

The bankrupt airlines created the guidelines after slashing employee salaries.

The four-page section, called "Preparing for a Financial Setback," was part of a larger packet given to ground workers who will likely lose their jobs due to outsourcing.

The fifth largest U.S. airline is expected to cut more than 1,000 jobs before 2007.

"I can't afford to live under what's being imposed," said one employee. "Our salaries have been cut -- they've been cut by about 40 per cent."

After handing out about 60 booklets to employees, the company cut the section from the booklet a week later because of a growing number of complaints.

Employees were particularly upset with the advice: "Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash."

Other money saving tips included:

• Buying jewelry at a pawn shop
• Giving homemade cards and gifts
• Asking doctors for prescription-drug samples
• Borrowing a dress for "a big night out"
• Giving children hand-me-down toys and clothes

With a report by CTV's Graham Richardson