UTC spells out cuts

After laying plans to cut its global work force by 1,400 positions in the first quarter, United Technologies Corp. added another 1,000 jobs to the chopping block in the second quarter, and indicated it will likely add to that total over the remainder of the year.

Hartford-based UTC is the largest corporate employer in Connecticut and in Fairfield County, where it has more than 9,000 workers at its Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. subsidiary. The company entered 2010 with a work force numbering 206,700 people.

In the second quarter, UTC had a $1.1 billion profit on $13.9 billion in revenue, representing increases of 14 percent and 5 percent respectively.

In the first half of 2010, UTC actually eliminated 900 jobs and now plans to cut another 1,500 jobs, a rejiggering of its earlier-stated plans, though still focusing on a total 2,400 jobs eliminated globally. The company expects to pay $116 million in severance benefits for the actions, which equates to more than $48,000 per employee.

Other UTC divisions include Carrier Corp., Hamilton Sundstrand, Otis Elevator Co., Pratt & Whitney, and UTC Fire & Security.

“The most significant actions were at Carrier related to ongoing portfolio transformation initiatives and overhead cost reduction projects; and at Hamilton Sundstrand which continued to advance (a) low-cost sourcing strategy,” said Greg Hayes, chief financial officer of UTC, in a conference call last week with investment analysts.