Production To Resume After Month-Long Layoff

Cirrus Design's announcement of the restart of its assembly lines, recalling most of its employees that were laid off a month ago back to work Monday, is likely a good sign for the light aircraft manufacturing industry as a whole.

As Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters predicted, a slow turn around has begun. The company is gearing up to resume production, although at a lower level than its full capacity, targeting about eight planes per week to keep pace with current demand, Wouters said.

More workers are expected to be brought back as needed. Bill King, Cirrus' Vice President of Business Administration, said, "It took a while to wind down our production, and it will take a while to wind it back up," the Duluth News Tribune reported.

As ANN reported, Cirrus laid off 335 workers in Duluth and 165 more in Grand Forks last November as a result of slumping sales, as the nation reeled in the throes of the economic depression.

In the interim, Cirrus provided workers with benefits typically unheard of in a furlough situation. Medical and other key benefits continued to be paid by Cirrus for its affected employees. Additionally, Cirrus coordinated with state government offices regarding available programs to supplement traditional compensation benefits for its employees.

The resumption of production is good news for Cirrus' suppliers, too. Dave Hudyma, founder of Duluth's SCS Aircraft Interiors, said he has been in survival mode since Cirrus halted production. "When they shut down, it hurts," he said. "We had to cut back on hours. But we have a good, understanding crew, and we've been able to keep it together."

Duluth's Northstar Aerospace, a manufacturer of Cirrus components, is also recalling laid-off workers. John Eagleton, Northstar's CEO, said, "We're probably restoring about 20 percent of our work force initially, and we'll be growing that to 30 or 40 percent over the next couple months."

Looking ahead at the new year, Eagleton is encouraged -- not only because Cirrus is resuming production -- but also due to progress with another Northstar customer, Eclipse Aviation. Although in the midst of restructuring after filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Eagleton said it appears that Eclipse will also resume production, in February.

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com, www.eclipseaviation.com