Shortly after Cessna was in the news for averting a strike by the machinist's union, an announcement was made that they will be laying off employees company wide.
In an email written to employees that was obtained by the Associated Press, Cessna's CEO, Jack Pelton, blamed the need for layoffs on the economy and that the company's performance mirrored the downturn. In the letter, Pelton stated “the recovery and growth we expected to see throughout the year have not materialized, and the timing of any recovery remains uncertain.”
The machinist's union, in calling for the strike vote and rejection of their new contract, cited job security as their main concern. The letter did state that the layoff's would be company wide, however, the majority will be in the Wichita region where Cessna is headquartered and the main manufacturing facility is located.
Cessna has already laid off 8,000 workers, which accounted for half of the company's employees. In Wichita alone, only 6,200 employees remain, and this number will be well under 6,000 when the next round of layoffs occur. No mention was made as to when the required 60-day notice would be provided to the employees being laid off.
The Kansas Department of Labor announced just yesterday that the Wichita unemployment figure for August was down from July. August had an 8.2% unemployment rate versus July's 8.5%. The addition of up to 700 Cessna employees would bring that total up to 8.3% without accounting for any other lay-offs or hirings in the Wichita area.
This past December, Cessna closed it's Columbus, Georgia, plant and moved some of the sub-assembly work to it's Mexican facility and some work transitioned to the Independence, Kansas facility.
According to CEO Pelton, this announcement was in no way related to the machinist contract vote or strike threat.
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