Company Says More Work Will Go To Romania

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 04.07.08 1220 EDT: Aero-News continues to investigate reports Liberty Aerospace cut a part of its 180-person workforce in Melbourne, FL last week, as the fledgling planemaker looks to shift more manufacturing work overseas.

Florida Today reports Liberty CEO Keith Markley said the company plans to outsource more production work to eastern Europe, where the company employs 160 people. Company officials termed the workforce shift a "reorganization," but declined to state how many workers in Melbourne were laid off.

"As Liberty continues to expand production, the expense associated with this growth could be absorbed in the Romanian facility much better than in Florida," Markley wrote in a company statement.

Liberty's Romanian partner will manufacture "certain carbon fiber and other metal components" for the aircraft, according to the planemaker.

The announcement came as a surprise to Richard Ennis, Melbourne International's executive director. "We've heard nothing official or unofficial," said Ennis. "We would be surprised and disappointed to learn if it were true."

Liberty's news of layoffs came as shock to those in Melbourne for another reason -- in December, the planemaker said it planned to add up to 50 more workers in Florida, to aid in ramping up to produce a 600-plane order in China. Those workers were to assist China's Anyang Angel Aero Science and Technology in establishing production.

ANN has calls into company officials, and has spoken to several Liberty workers. Stay tuned.

FMI: www.libertyaerospace.com