Spirit AeroSystems offers some employees voluntary retirement incentives

Spirit AeroSystems told employees Thursday that it is offering a voluntary retirement program to certain management and salaried employees in Wichita and Kinston, N.C., the company confirmed.

Employees must be older than 55 and have at least 10 years of service to take advantage of the program.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this program to certain long-term employees who are over 55 and have at least 10 years of service,” said Ken Evans, a Spirit spokesman.

The company was not providing additional details or specifics of the offers.

Spirit does not have a goal on the number of employees expected to take the company up on the offer or that it would like to have accept the offer.

“That needs to play out,” Evans said. “It’s up to each individual to decide.”

Each employee has different retirement goals and issues to consider, he said.

The move comes as Spirit has been on an aggressive initiative to cut costs and make other changes.

The publicly traded company has bolstered top management, pared indirect headcount, pushed to reduce overtime by hiring more hourly workers, worked with its supply chain to cut costs and put its Tulsa wing facilities up for sale, an aerospace analyst noted this week.

The company also is exploring whether to sell its fabrication division, which produces specialized aerospace parts for larger assemblies.

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Spirit AeroSystems offers some employees voluntary retirement incentives."