Textron Announces Further Layoffs

Citing “evolving global economic uncertainty and existing market conditions,” Textron announced on Tuesday that it is laying off approximately 800 employees in its aviation division. The majority of the layoffs are expected to affect workers at the company’s facility in Wichita, Kansas. The move is the latest in a series of layoffs at Textron with 250 Textron Aviation employees—70 of whom worked in Wichita—laid off in June and 875 people across the company laid off last December. Prior to the most recent round of layoffs, Textron Aviation employed approximately 9,000 people in Wichita.

In a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June, Textron stated that it would be eliminating up to 1,950 positions and the closing its TRU Simulation + Training commercial air transport simulator manufacturing facility in Montreal, Canada, as part of a restructuring plan. Along with TRU, the company reported the plan would primarily impact its aviation and industrial segments. According to Textron, restructuring was necessitated by “the economic challenges and uncertainty” resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As previously reported by AVweb, Textron Aviation also began instituting rolling furloughs last March due to the pandemic. The company has said that further furloughs and workforce reductions may be necessary throughout the rest of 2020.