Cessna is to cut 1,500 jobs next year, with deliveries of Citation business jets now expected to fall below the 250 aircraft originally forecast for 2003. The layoffs, totalling 13% of the workforce, will begin in February.
Cessna will deliver 300 Citations this year - down from 330 in 2001 - and had forecast deliveries of 250 aircraft next year. It has a strong order backlog, but deliveries of the new Citation CJ3 and Sovereign will not begin until 2004, and shipments of the fast-selling Citation Mustang personal jet will not begin until 2006.
The latest layoffs will affect the Citation workforce in Wichita, Kansas. Cessna has already cut 1,100 jobs, including 600 at its single-engined aircraft plant in Independence, Kansas. The company will also extend its year-end shutdown by two days.
The four aircraft manufacturers in the Wichita area have now announced almost 16,000 layoffs since July 2001. Raytheon Aircraft has cut 2,200 jobs and Bombardier is laying off more than 900 staff at its Learjet division. Most of the cuts are at Boeing's Wichita plant.
Bombardier began a four-month production shutdown at Learjet at the start of December, furloughing 500 more workers in a move to reduce business aircraft deliveries to 100 aircraft from the 140 originally planned for the year ending 31 January.
Raytheon hopes to deliver 282 aircraft this year - down from 378 in 2001 - and has forecast shipments of 276 next year. The company has brought its annual two-week plant shutdown forward to January from July. Dassault and Gulfstream are also cutting business jet production rates next year.
Sikorsky, meanwhile, has announced a further 267 layoffs, citing a slowdown in international helicopter sales. The company cut 240 jobs in October and November.
Source: Flight International
