BY MIKE DESALVO
Hearst Connecticut Media
Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will close its Bridgeport facility on South Avenue as part of a consolidation announced Tuesday, along with cutting 1,400 jobs worldwide.
Sikorsky said about 180 jobs cuts will be in Connecticut out of its workforce of about 8,000 in the state.
Officials said the Bridgeport jobs will be moved to the company”™s Stratford headquarters starting next year. The future of the Bridgeport building has not been decided.
The following statement is from spokesman Paul Jackson:
“Sustained decreases in oil prices continue to drive significant declines in capital investments by oil companies in offshore oil exploration projects impacting Sikorsky and resulting in reduced production levels. Additionally, Sikorsky continues to experience softness in demand for certain international military products.
“As a result, we informed employees today of a global workforce reduction of approximately 1,400 production-related positions, which includes a mix of employees and contractors. These actions affect Sikorsky”™s facilities in Poland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut and will take place over the next twelve months starting immediately. As part of this activity, the company will vacate smaller satellite facilities and consolidate remaining production volume into larger campuses in Poland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut to include exiting its current facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and relocating employees to the Stratford, Connecticut facility. It is important to note that none of these announced layoffs are a result of the facility consolidation.
“We will work closely with the impacted employees to ease the transition, and with all our employees, customers and suppliers to ensure continued delivery on all our business commitments.”
Hearst Connecticut Media includes four daily newspapers: Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, The Advocate (Stamford) and The News-Times (Danbury). See ctpost.com for more from this reporter.
