Rockwell Collins, a military/aerospace supplier based in Cedars Rapid, Iowa and acquired by United Technologies for $23 billion has embarked on a cost-reduction restructuring plan that will see its Tucson aircraft seating company shuttered with more than 400 employees laid off. Any remaining operations will be transferred to other company locations. Reduced demand for high-quality luxury aircraft seating is being cited for the restructuring.
Additionally, approximately 130 people will be laid off at their Winston-Salem, North Carolina seat assembly facility and some of the operations in its aftermarket services division, including manufacturing, assembly and spares support will be outsourced to a facility in the Philippines.
Some of the people in the Winston-Salem layoff program will have contractual union “bumping privileges” and be allowed to replace less tenured employees in remaining positions. An additional 32 engineering, program management, and product support positions will be transferred from the company’s Tucson, Arizona location to the Winston-Salem facility.
Parent company, United Technologies was quick to point out that this is not your typical “jobs reduction story,” but simply a realignment of capabilities, capacity, and demand.
Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?