Site closure and job losses at Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is to reduce its global workforce by approximately 250 employees by the year end as a result of a projected decline in customer demand and weakness in the global aerospace market with, the company says, no signs of a recovery in 2010.
P&WC will also close its facility on Auvergne Street in Longueuil, Quebec, by the end of 2010. The plant’s activities will be transferred to other P&WC facilities on Montreal’s South Shore. This closure will result in an additional workforce reduction of 160 employees across P&WC’s Quebec operations, starting in early 2010.
“These are difficult times. We need to make strategic decisions and structural changes to remain competitive and preserve our future in the face of continuing economic headwinds,” remarked John Saabas, president, P&WC. “We are sensitive to the personal impact on employees who will be affected, and we will do everything we can to ease their transition.”
P&WC will consolidate its activities into three key strategic manufacturing and aftermarket facilities in Quebec. These include its headquarters, manufacturing, and research & development facility in Longueuil; its service centre in St Hubert; and its Mirabel Aerospace Centre, the future home of Pratt & Whitney's global flight test operations and final assembly and test of PW1524G engines for the Bombardier CSeries and the PW800 engine family.
“We remain committed to our activities in Quebec and Canada,” Saabas confirmed. When P&WC completes the Mirabel facility in 2010, it will have 1.1 million sq ft of manufacturing space in Quebec, approximately 10% more than today.
P&WC says it will continue to invest in new technologies to be ready for the next generation of business jets, regional aircraft and helicopters and to emerge stronger from the downturn.
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