Sikorsky Aircraft Cutting 1,400 Jobs, Consolidating Facilities (Updated)

Update, 3 p.m.

Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson said approximately 180 people in Connecticut are expected to lose their jobs in the layoffs. Sikorsky has about 8,000 employees in Connecticut, according to Jackson.

Original story

Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft has announced it will be cutting 1,400 jobs over the next 12 months in Poland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Employees were notified Tuesday of the job cuts, which will be production-related positions and includes a mix of employees and contractors.

The company also plans to exit its facility in Bridgeport and relocate the employees to Stratford.

Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson issued the following statement on Tuesday:

Sustained decreases in oil prices continue to drive significant declines in capital investments by oil companies in offshore oil exploration projects impacting Sikorsky and resulting in reduced production levels. Additionally, Sikorsky continues to experience softness in demand for certain international military products.

As a result, we informed employees today of a global workforce reduction of approximately 1,400 production-related positions, which includes a mix of employees and contractors. These actions affect Sikorsky’s facilities in Poland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut and will take place over the next twelve months starting immediately. As part of this activity, the company will vacate smaller satellite facilities and consolidate remaining production volume into larger campuses in Poland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut to include exiting its current facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and relocating employees to the Stratford, Connecticut facility. It is important to note that none of these announced layoffs are a result of the facility consolidation.

We will work closely with the impacted employees to ease the transition, and with all our employees, customers and suppliers to ensure continued delivery on all our business commitments.