(WFSB) – Raytheon, parent company of Pratt & Whitney, announced that its layoff plans are deepening.
Back in July, the company announced it was cutting more than 8,000 jobs.
On Wednesday, the company said the number had risen to 15,000.
Raytheon has yet to provide details on where the job cuts will occur and whether any Connecticut employees will be affected, as both Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace have offices in other parts of the country.
CEO Greg Hayes said in a statement, “I would tell you that the commercial aviation team has emerged from this crisis and this year they are seeking $ 2 billion in cost savings and $ 4 billion in cash savings. These measures include the reduction of more than 15,000 positions in our commercial aerospace and corporate organizations. This reduction is almost double the previous estimate of about 8,500 people we gave you in July. And we haven’t finished looking for further ways to reduce structural costs across all of our companies. ”
Airports are empty, and this is taking its toll on aircraft companies.
“Traveling by air can take a long time until people have the trust, faith and confidence that they can travel safely,” said Brian Marks of the University of New Haven.
University of New Haven economics professor Brian Marks predicts that the impact on aviation will only get worse.
“Raytheon’s announcement that commercial airlines may not be back in business until 2023 is not a surprise,” Marks said.
Channel 3 requested details on how many jobs in each sector will be cut, but Raytheon is not sharing this information.
Both Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace have offices across the country, so the full impact on Connecticut is still a mystery.
The news came just days after Raytheon was awarded a $ 579 million contract from the Department of Defense. Experts say the defense side of the business is decoupled from the commercial side, so the injection of money would not prevent layoffs.
