Sluggish Sales Cited As Forcing The Move

Piper on Monday told employees that it would be laying off about 6 percent of its workforce, or about 60 employees, according to media reports. Most of those being let go are in the manufacturing sector, though some outside that division will be downsized as well.

The Vero Beach News Journal reports that employees were told by Piper VP for Human Resources Steve Johnston that they will be given the option of two more weeks work and one week's severance, or a flat two weeks severance pay.

The letter from interim Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger to employees said the company "remains challenged by overall market weakness." Piper's forecast sales of 200 aircraft for the year was overly optimistic, he told the company. In June that forecast was cut to 162 airplanes, and Berger said the market has "continued to demonstrate little or no tangible signs of recovery" since, according to the paper.

There will be about 830 employees left at Piper, some of whom were recently hired to work on the PiperJet program.

Piper is only the latest to announce layoffs as the quarter comes to an end. Last week, Cessna announced it was shedding about 700 workers, and Hawker Beechcraft followed suit a few days later with the announcement that 350 salaried employees were being let go.

FMI: www.piper.com