The'technology services giant reported that it will support HR functions including training, recruitment, and staffing -- along with related IT and call center support -- for all of American's 88,000 employees in the United States and Canada.

Big Blue won the deal in tandem with'consultants Mercer HR Services, which will cover health and benefits and pension and payroll management aspects of the seven-and-a-half year contract.

The deal with American represents only the latest in a string of major outsourcing agreements won by IBM, including an' 'signed in Aug. 2006.

Terms of the Delta agreement weren't made public, but IBM reported that it would partner with the airline's internal technology group to help oversee IT mainframe services and other infrastructure management operations.

In July 2006, IBM announced another sizable HR services outsourcing deal, signing retailer CVS Pharmacy to a 10-year agreement covering many of the same business processes involved in the American Airlines contract.