Lighter, more fuel-efficient gas-turbine engines are $1.5 billion closer to reality, or at least closer to creating some 1,500 jobs at Pratt & Whitney Canada’s facilities and its network of suppliers. The company is investing its own money (and the equivalent of $350 million from the Canadian government) in what company President Alain Bellemare told CBC News is “the most important commitment made by [Pratt & Whitney Canada] in its history.” Company facilities at Longueuil and Mississauga, Ont., will bear the brunt of research and development while Pratt & Whitney Canada itself bears the brunt of rhetoric from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The federation says that while the $350 million is “repayable,” P&WC’s “repayment history and omnipresence at the trough” means “it is Canadian taxpayers who will be burned.” Actually, according to CBC News, federation Director John Williamson said in a release, “Giving Pratt & Whitney [Canada] more of taxpayers’ money is like giving a pyromaniac a jerry can and pack of matches.”
P&WC Takes Aim On Light Turbines
Key Takeaways:
- Pratt & Whitney Canada is investing $1.5 billion (including $350 million from the Canadian government) in developing lighter, more fuel-efficient gas-turbine engines.
- This project, deemed the most important in the company's history, is expected to create 1,500 jobs, with R&D primarily at its Longueuil and Mississauga facilities.
- The Canadian Taxpayers Federation strongly criticizes the government's $350 million contribution, citing P&WC's "repayment history" and calling it a waste of taxpayer money.
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