Reports Say Roughly 77 Workers Out Of A Job

Company officials insist it's business as usual at planemaker Sino Swearingen, manufacturer of the SJ30-2 business jet... but following another round of layoffs at the company's facilities in Martinsburg, WV and San Antonio, TX, some are wondering how much longer that will be the case.

Sino spokesman Mark Fairchild confirmed news of the layoffs, but wouldn't say how many employees were given the ax.

"We’ve had some restrictions throughout the company," Fairchild told the Martinsburg Journal on Friday. "We’re trying to get streamlined."

That number hovers around 77, reports two West Virginia newspapers, with around 43 workers fired at the Martinsburg plant. The facility manufacturers body components -- including the fuselage, wings, and tail assemblies; the company's assembly plant and headquarters are in San Antonio.

The news comes after reports surfaced in June the Taiwanese government -- the majority shareholder in the planemaker -- failed in its last two attempts to secure new investors for the Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation (SSAC), once in October 2006 and the second this past May.

The government made one last attempt to gain investors, but so far no one has stepped forward to take over the planemaker. Fairchild says Taiwan's Aerospace Industry Development Corporation is still mulling over the possibility of remaining an investor in Sino Swearingen.

Fairchild adds the Martinsburg plant remains in operation... but would not say how many people are still working there. The spokesman denied rumors either facility was in danger of closing, but admitted some manufacturing work could be moved to Taiwan.

"Some detailed parts might go to Tawain," he admitted. "The Taiwanese have funded the program for quite some time. They’ve put in over $600 million and this might be a way to give back some money and jobs."

As ANN reported, about 100 Sino workers in San Antonio were laid off last August; another 38 layoffs came from Martinsburg.

FMI: www.sj30jet.com