Hourly And Salaried Employees To Be Let Go As Defense Budgets Shrink

About 325 additional jobs are being cut primarily at Bell Helicopter's Hurst, TX facility as defense spending declines. The cuts come on top of some 700 jobs that have been cut since early last year.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that, according to Bell CEO John Garrison, the latest round of layoffs is directly related to cuts in defense spending. But Bell parent Textron reported an 8 percent drop in revenues in its first quarter report issued last week. A dip in both civilian and military sales was blamed for the $76 million drop in revenues.

The layoffs will affect both managerial and non-managerial employees, some of whom are members of the UAW Local 218.

The Pentagon has cut its orders for V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft by nearly 50 percent in recent years, though there are still multi-year deals in place for about 30 aircraft per year with Naval Air Systems Command.

Bell still employs about 6,500 people in Tarrant County, TX, and about 5,000 of those work in the Fort Worth area, according to the paper. Bell recently began a modernization effort at its east Fort Worth headquarters that carries a $235 million price tag.

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com