General Dynamics Cuts Finishing Work Performed By The Company

Some 330 employees at Jet Aviation St. Louis are facing layoffs after its parent company General Dynamics said it plans to cut finishing work done at St. Louis Downtown Airport in the coming months.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that company officials made the announcement Tuesday. In the same announcement, General Dynamics said that it plans to move Gulfstream Aerospace Corp ... another subsidiary ... to the former Jet Aviation facilities at St. Louis Downtown/Cahokia Airport. At its peak, Jet Aviation employed more than 1,000 people at the facility, according to the report.

In a prepared statement, Jet Aviation spokesman Carlie Bosworth said that the changes will affect about half the current work force. “Jet Aviation regrets this action’s effect on our employees and their families,” Bosworth said in his statement. “Affected employees will receive severance packages that include pay, benefits and employment assistance.

“Jet Aviation has notified employees at its St. Louis facility about a reduction in force due to the discontinuation of completion operations there,” Bosworth said.

The completion work done by Jet Aviation included such things as avionics installations, livery and interior finishing. Bosworth said that the layoffs would be carried out in several phases through the first quarter of 2018 "as manpower needs change month to month. The first phase will affect approximately 100 employees who are now being notified that they will be laid off the first week of October.”

Gulfstream, based in Savannah, GA, will use the space for MRO services at Cahokia airport. Some Jet Aviation employees will be able to transfer to Gulfstream, according to company officials.

FMI: www.generaldynamics.com