After being walloped by weather and bogged down by bureaucracy,Columbia Aircraft says it has to trim its workforce by 10 percent tomake ends meet. The Bend, Ore., planemaker announced on Thursday itwill lay off 59 of its 605 employees because of unforeseen factorsthat cut the number of deliveries it could make lastyear. Although sales have remained strong, CEO Bing Lantis said in anews release that a freak hailstorm last June and a six-month delayin the certification of its Garmin G1000 panel installation have”hampered Columbia’s ability to operate profitably.” The 59 workersgot their pink slips this week. As AVweb reported last year, thehailstorm damaged the paint on 60 aircraft that were awaitingcertification and delivery at the Bend plant. Although no structuraldamage occurred, the finish on all the planes had to be repaired orrefinished before they could go to customers. The hail damage cameafter a six-month delay in the G1000 certification, which meant thatno one who ordered those airplanes could pick them up (and pay forthem) until the paperwork was complete. Lantis says Columbia tried toreduce its workforce through attrition, but finally had to impose thelayoffs. He said the order backlog remains fat and the company isbuilding and delivering aircraft against a 90-day backlog of orders.
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