Recent Cessna Closing A Symptom Of Broader Economic Problems

With the recent announcement  that Cessna will close its plant in Columbus, GA, aviation companies with operations in Georgia say they are wrestling with some of the worst economic conditions in decades.

With GAMA reporting a nearly 60 percent drop in piston aircraft sales, and a business jet drop of 38%, the trend goes far beyond Georgia.

Cessna spokesman Dout Oliver told The Atlanta Journal Constitution “We abandoned that [new] building outright. The building’s for sale.”  Oliver called the recent economic upheaval a "perfect storm."

But not all the news is bad. The paper reports that while some aviation sectors have been hit hard, overall aerospace employment in Georgia has dipped only slightly in 2009. Military aircraft manufacturing has been strong due to international orders, including C-130's being built for Australia, Italy, Britain and others. The Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta where the plane is built has increased employment by about 600 jobs this year, despite the pending end of the F-22 program in 2011.

There are a number of parts manufacturers in the state as well, and they have the added benefit of being able to draw on a replacement part market for things like jet engines. However many of them are still working on existing inventory, and the number of new parts being produced has declined.

The hardest hit sectors are the piston and business jet markets, for obvious reasons, though again, the AJC reports, the bizjet market has been able to relay on some overseas sales much as the military manufacturers have to help the bottom line. And Gulfstream, with headquarters in Savannah, has just flown but the G650 and the G250, the newest additions to the Gulfstream line.

FMI: www.dol.state.ga.us