Cessna Suffers While Others Prosper

While Cirrus is reporting record sales, Diamond fills flight schools and Lancair Certified ramps up production to clear a backlog of orders, the world’s biggest GA company is still writing pink slips. Another 300 Cessna employees were let go last Tuesday as the company finished its review of workforce requirements. The layoffs are included in a total of 1,200 originally announced last March and the first 900 workers were let go in May. As late as three weeks ago, Cessna was saying it might be able to keep the remaining 300 on staff. “It’s taken awhile to review everything we need to know to make the right adjustment,” Cessna spokeswoman Jessica Myers told The Wichita Eagle. The latest layoffs take effect at the end of October but some workers will be gone before then, with full pay and benefits during the mandatory 60-day notice period. Cessna tried to put a positive spin on the gloomy situation. “We are confident that Cessnans will continue to show their outstanding dedication, support and teamwork through these challenging times,” the company said in a statement. The Machinists Union wasn’t impressed. “We are tired of seeing these layoffs,” local president Steve Rooney told the Eagle.