Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. recently received a multi-million dollar contract for the service and maintenance of more than 360 aircrafts operated by the Chief of Naval Air Training.
The announcement was followed by multiple news reports about Sikorsky”™s plan to cut 600 jobs, close to 4 percent of its global workforce, with most of the downsizing happening in Stratford and the cuts being equally split between salaried and union employees.
The Hartford Courant reported that the cuts come after the U.S. military lowered its order of Black Hawk helicopters, dropping Sikorsky”™s expected sales by hundreds of millions of dollars. About half of the helicopter manufacturer”™s 16,500 employees work in Stratford.
The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Sikorsky the contract, which is valued at $110 million. The work is expected to be completed in October.
“Winning this contract again speaks to our ability to provide world-class aviation support, not only to our rotary-wing platforms but to the U.S. military”™s multiple fixed-wing fleets,” said George Mitchell, vice president of aircraft and support for Sikorsky”™s Defense Systems and Services business, in a written statement.
Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., a company that provides a range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide.
