Pratt & Whitney lays off 350 employees

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney laid off about 350 salaried employees across the country on Wednesday in response to a slowing global economy with most of the cuts coming in Connecticut.

The job cuts will affect less than 1 percent of the company’s work force of more than 38,000 employees and will take effect immediately, said Jennifer Whitlow, a spokeswoman.

Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., supplies both military and commercial jet engines for products such as Boeing Co.’s 747 and 777, as well as the Airbus A300, among many others. It also builds engines for Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 fighter jet and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

About 280 of the layoffs will occur at the company’s Connecticut operations. The remaining 70 will affect employees in 12 other states, including Maine – where Pratt & Whitney has a plant in North Berwick – and Texas. Those cuts will affect a myriad of salaried positions including administrative assistants, engineers and accountants, Whitlow said.

The decision is intended to keep the company’s cost structure competitive as worsening economic conditions continue to negatively affect the aerospace industry.

“The economy has without a doubt impacted the global aerospace market,” said Whitlow. “Airlines are looking to reduce cost structure, and we are part of that value chain.”