April

Reacting to “uncertain worldwide economic conditions,” Cessna Aircraft announced a series of measures in late March to reduce production of its turbine-powered aircraft models and cut personnel costs through furloughs and layoffs. Acting to offset the effect of lower earnings, Cessna said it was also looking at outsourcing activities not related to building airframes. Aside from the economic downturn, Cessna had to deal with a slew of cancelled orders for aircraft. At the same time, Bombardiers new boss shifted the company’s strategy to one of consolidation and cost-cutting from the rapid growth of its recent past. CEO Paul Tellier said his mandate is to “change the culture” at the conglomerate, which had previously focused on doubling revenue every five years. Tellier said Bombardier Capital, the company’s financing arm, isn’t a core activity and could eventually be sold. Like other Wichita-area aircraft manufacturers, Raytheon is planning to outsource some of its production work, but at the expense of drawing fire from its workers’ unions. The company is planning to outsource some work to foreign suppliers while the economic downturn persists.