United Technologies Corp., one of the state’s largest employers, announced Wednesday evening plans to furlough thousands of employees if the government shutdown continues.
Without government-paid auditors to inspect the military products the company manufactures, certain work will need to be stopped, according to UTC officials.
Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. plans to furlough 2,000 employees unless the shutdown ends before Monday. If the shutdown continues past next week, it plans to furlough an additional 1,000 employees.
“The inability of Congress and the White House to reach a federal budget agreement and end the government shutdown has severely impacted and in some areas completely stopped Sikorsky”™s ability to manufacture and support helicopters used by all branches of the United States military,” said Sikorsky Spokesman Paul Jackson in a written statement. “As we stated earlier this week, we could manage the impact of a shutdown for a short time, but would not be able to sustain production for any extended period without an adverse impact.”
Up to roughly 5,000 employees may also be furloughed at East Hartford-based Pratt and Whitney and UTC Aerospace Systems if the shutdown continues past next week.
The furloughs come at a time when UTC is also enacting plans to reduce its global workforce by 3,000 employees by the end of the year.
Following UTC’s announcement, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy released a written statement condemning House Republicans. The group has tied a defunding or delay of the Affordable Care Act to approving funding for the federal budget.
“This is what happens when House Republicans decide that political gamesmanship is more important than people’s jobs,” Malloy said. “It’s unconscionable that so many working families would be unfairly put in this situation. The people of Connecticut, and of the entire United States, deserve better. Once again, I call on House Republicans to stop this irresponsible behavior and pass a clean continuing resolution that funds the government, keeps people at work, and doesn’t threaten to undo the important progress that”™s been made toward economic recovery.”
