Wichita area’s second-biggest employer announces layoffs

One of Wichita’s largest employers will reduce its staff but the company isn’t saying by how many.

On Thursday, Textron Aviation announced it would lay off “some professional positions” effective Dec. 31.

A Textron spokesperson wouldn’t release any additional information other than the two-paragraph statement.

The majority of the positions, the announcement said, would be at its headquarters in Wichita. Those positions would be mainly in engineering and as well as business support staff. The reduction does not impact the company’s direct workforce, the statement says.

The release says the company offered a voluntary retirement program last month for employees who qualified. It did not say how many employees took the buyout.

“Textron Aviation remains focused on our long-term strategic workforce plan and will continue hiring as needed for skilled advanced aviation manufacturing positions such as composites, tooling, A&P mechanics, avionics technicians, and other direct manufacturing and customer support jobs,” the release stated.

Textron is the parent company that manufactures Cessna, Hawker and Beechcraft planes. According to the company website, Textron Aviation delivered 45 jets through the third quarter of 2019, up from 41 the same time last year, and 39 commercial turboprops, down from 43 last year.

Data from the Greater Wichita Partnership — an offshoot of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce — lists Textron as the area’s second-largest employer with 9,000 people. Spirit AeroSystems, another aviation company, has 12,500 employees.

Figures posted in June by the International Air Transport Association predicts industry revenues to climb from $812 billion to $865 billion in 2019. But, the report predicts, a larger jump in expenses will reduce the industry’s net profit by $2 billion down to $28 billion.

This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 5:34 PM.