Diamond Aircraft Industries (Canada) has been forced to restructure its London, Ontario operation and suspend development of its D-JET programme.
The decision has been driven, the company says, by the continued poor sales of piston-engined aircraft and "the significant burden" of developing the "cost intensive D-JET".
Diamond also suspended work on the Williams FJ33-5A-powered aircraft in March 2011, citing funding issues, but the airframer eventually secured new investors and restarted testing in September of that year. Certification and service entry of the five-seat, single-engined aircraft was scheduled for the third quarter of 2014.
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"In a cost-cutting measure, the majority of the workforce has been issued temporary lay-off notices, pending implementation of restructuring plans," says Diamond.
"We want to hire back as many employees as possible, as quickly as possible, but the exact number and timing will be determined as we develop our restructuring plans in the coming weeks," adds company president Peter Maurer. "Regrettably, we need to suspend activity on the D-JET programme pending the securing of additional funding."
Diamond is retaining a core group of employees to fulfil purchase orders for aircraft, parts and services and to provide continuing airworthiness and technical support.
Diamond is keen to stress this action is "limited to Diamond's Canada-based operations only and does not involve the Austria-based, independently owned and operated Diamond Aircraft Industries".
Source: Flight International
