The 100 to 150 employees recently laid off by Eclipse, almost all serving in positions necessary to begin production, were mostly temporary employees and only a handful of “direct” employees were affected, according to Eclipse spokesman Andrew Broom. The staff reduction amounts to roughly 10 percent of Eclipse’s near-1,500 person workforce that is currently churning out about one aircraft each day, a local NBC affiliate reported.
Speaking for Albuquerque, which offered Eclipse incentives to set up shop and bring jobs to the area and holds Eclipse as an example of the city’s high-tech industry, Mayor Martin Chavez told NBC, “They are contractors and it’s what they do for a living.” He added, “The job base in Albuquerque is really rich right now, so they’ll be fine.” Eclipse had initially hoped to have production levels up to two jets per day by now. Certain developmental and certification issues have caused delays.
