Textron is cutting 725 jobs at three divisions including subsidiary helicopter maker Bell, part of a restructuring aimed at cutting costs.
The Rhode Island-based company disclosed the cuts in a 28 November regulatory filing, saying jobs will disappear at Bell, Textron Systems, which sells aviation services, and Textron Industrial, a manufacturer of ground vehicles.
The filing does not specify how many jobs each division will lose. It says the restructuring will impact the company’s fourth-quarter financial results and be “substantially complete” by mid-2024.
But the the filing makes no mention of job cuts at either Textron Aviation, which owns Cessna and Beechcraft, nor at Textron eAviation, the company’s electric aircraft division. Neither Bell nor Textron Aviation immediately responded to requests for more information.
Textron’s board of directors on 28 November “approved a restructuring plan developed by management in connection with the company’s annual operating plan process,” Textron’s filing says. “The plan will reduce operating expenses through headcount reductions at the Industrial, Bell and Textron Systems segments.”
“In both the Bell and Textron Systems segments, the plan includes targeted headcount reductions to improve the segments’ cost structures and realign their workforces as these segments transition from legacy production contracts to more development, engineering focused contracts,” Textron says.
Textron Systems includes aircraft piston-engine maker Lycoming. It also sells aerospace technologies and airborne training service for military pilots. Textron Industrial produces specialised ground vehicles.
The 725 jobs account for 2% of Textron’s global workforce, which stood at 34,000 employees at the end of 2022.
