Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, battling defense cuts and rising costs, said Thursday that it is cutting 200 hourly jobs, mostly in Connecticut.
The Stratford-based helicopter maker announced the layoff of 200 salaried workers in June.
“Sikorsky continues to look to a promising future, but today we face difficult challenges including U.S. and international budget declines, rising costs to compete, and heightened uncertainty due to sequestration,” Sikorsky spokesman Paul Jackson said in a statement. “We must do all we can to protect our competitiveness while investing in our future.”
Jackson said the Sikorsky workforce — now numbering about 8,400 in Connecticut — were told of the reductions Thursday. Connecticut was hit the hardest because it has the largest concentration of Sikorsky employees, Jackson said.
Jackson said the company was seeking to minimize layoffs by extending a “voluntary separation offer” to eligible employees represented by the Teamsters union.
By Kenneth Gosselin, Hartford Courant