Sikorsky announces layoff of 179 Connecticut jobs

Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft, a division of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), announced plans to lay off 179 Connecticut workers.

The eliminated Connecticut jobs are part of the company’s plan to shed 250 positions, or roughly 2% of its workforce. The positions to be eliminated are in the company’s business segment.

“Several major programs are progressing into production and no longer require the same level of development support,” said the company in a statement. “In addition, ongoing material shortages are impacting our cost-competitiveness. This was a difficult decision to make, and we intend to retain as many people as possible to fill our open business-critical positions that are required to support urgent national security missions.”

Gov. Ned Lamont’s office was contacted by the Business Journal for a comment but has yet to provide a statement.

The layoffs came after the news that the Sikorsky received a seven-year, $650 million contract upgrade its HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter. This involves the development and integration of the vehicle’s global positioning system anti-jamming capabilities, mobile user objective technology and degraded visual environment systems.

The contracting activity for the upgrades will take place at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center in Ohio, with the completion of the orders taking place at the company’s Stratford facility by September 2030.