Pratt & Whitney’s parent company to layoff 15,000 workers. What does that mean for Columbus?
Pratt & Whitney’s parent company announced 15,000 jobs would be cut this year at the American aerospace manufacturer and its other subsidiaries, but declined to provide details on how it may affect its Columbus plant.
Greg Hayes, CEO of Massachusetts-based Raytheon Technologies said the company is nearly doubling the job cuts from 8,500 announced in July across Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace and its corporate offices globally “and we’re not done yet looking for further ways to reduce structural costs in all of our businesses.” The cuts follow a drop in aviation caused by COVID-19, reports the Hartford Courant. Pratt & Whitney is based in nearby East Hartford, Connecticut.
“(The) 15k is a global figure for Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace and Raytheon Technologies corporate, and many actions have already taken place around the world for Pratt & Whitney’s locations. This figure also includes the reductions achieved through the Voluntary Separation program completed earlier this year,” Pratt & Whitney spokesperson Jenny Dervin said in a statement to the Ledger-Enquirer.
“While there are additional actions remaining for Pratt & Whitney, I am not at liberty to discuss details that may or may not affect our Columbus facility. We will communicate with our teams first,” she added.
As of Friday afternoon, neither Raytheon nor Pratt & Whitney have filed notices with the Georgia Department of Labor as federally required when a plant closes or a mass layoff occurs that results in employment loss.
In 2017, Pratt & Whitney pledged to invest $386 million into its Columbus plant on Macon Road and create more than 500 jobs over five years. Executives sent emails to employees in April stating the company was implementing salary reductions and furloughs as a result of the pandemic, WRBL reports.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 3:33 PM.