Mon, Apr 07, 2008
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.
More News
Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]
Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]
Aero Linx: Colorado Pilots Association (CPA) Colorado Pilots Association was incorporated as a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation in 1972. It is a statewide organization with over 700 >[...]
High Speed Taxiway A long radius taxiway designed and provided with lighting or marking to define the path of aircraft, traveling at high speed (up to 60 knots), from the runway ce>[...]
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23
See All