Sikorsky Agreement Approved By CT Legislature

STRATFORD, CT — The Connecticut General Assembly this week ratified an agreement between Lockheed Martin and the state that will keep Sikorsky’s headquarters in Connecticut for the next 20 years.

Gov. Ned Lamont said the deal his administration recently reached with Lockheed Martin would also sustain more than 7,000 jobs in the state and has the potential to bring new helicopter lines to Sikorsky’s Stratford facility.

The legislation was approved in the House by a vote of 130 to 14, and in the Senate by a vote of 34 to 1. In the bill, Connecticut would give up to $75 million in incentives depending on how many next-generation helicopter contracts are secured.

Lamont said he will soon sign it into law.

“I can’t overstate the significance of what this means for Connecticut workers, not only for those who work directly for Sikorsky, but also for the people who are employed by the 242 suppliers located all throughout our state that contract and do business with this worldwide leading aerospace company,” Lamont said in a statement. “This agreement will maintain and encourage the growth of thousands of high-tech, good-paying jobs in Connecticut for at least the next two decades. Today’s overwhelming, bipartisan vote to ratify this agreement shows just how much this state values our partnership with Sikorsky. I thank all of the legislators who voted to approve it and I look forward to signing it into law.”

The 20-year agreement negotiated by the Lamont administration ensures that if Lockheed Martin – the parent company of Sikorsky – is successful in “securing federal contracts for new helicopter programs that will soon replace several existing programs, the production work on those new lines will occur in Connecticut,” according to a news release. “In addition, the agreement, which provides the company with performance-based incentives in the form of sales and use tax offsets and tax credits, requires Sikorsky to maintain its headquarters in Connecticut and maintain significant employment through 2042, among other requirements.”

Sikorsky has facilities in Stratford, Bridgeport, Shelton, North Haven, and Trumbull, and has 242 suppliers throughout Connecticut.

State Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) said the labor force that makes up the Sikorsky family “keeps us free abroad and saves lives.”

“The legislature took an important step to help secure those jobs and guarantee economic investment in our state and in our families,” Kelly said. “The best and safest helicopters in the world are made by Sikorsky and by the world’s most talented workforce. The President flies Sikorsky in the U.S. presidential Marine One fleet because it is the world’s best helicopter. And that’s not by chance. That’s a result of Connecticut workers from Stratford, Shelton, Seymour, Monroe and the entire greater Bridgeport area, as well as the suppliers across our state in over 71 Connecticut towns that support Sikorsky. What is best for every Commander in Chief is best for all our troops and civilians served by those helicopters. This is an important step to sustain thousands of direct and indirect jobs at Sikorsky and at the many suppliers locally and across Connecticut that work collectively to make our state home to the greatest in helicopter and defense innovation.”