Pratt & Whitney Canada To Cut 1,000 Jobs

Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada said on Thursday it will lay off up to 1,000 workers from its global operations as it responds to a drop in the business jet market.

The company said it told its 10,000-strong workforce on Wednesday that around 10 percent of them would go within the next few months.

Employees of the Longueuil, Quebec-based company were also told they would have to take 10 unpaid days off throughout the year on top of a two-week summer shut down.

"Given the economic context... we've got to put measures in place on one side to reduce costs across the company and on the other side to reduce our global workforce," said Pierre Boisseau, a spokesman for the company.

"The big aircraft manufacturers have... announced production reduction, they've cancelled orders, they've announced staff reduction as well, so this is having a direct impact on our business activities."

P&WC builds engine for companies such as Bombardier, Embraer and Cessna.

Cessna, the world's largest maker of corporate jets, announced last month it would lay off 4,000 people. A week ago, Bombardier said it would cut 1,360 jobs, saying it expected the business jet market to fall by 10 percent this year.

Boisseau said P&WC was still in talks with its customers all around the world in order to determine in which of its facilities it would be cutting back.

Around 7,000 of the company's employees work in Canada, with 5,500 in the province of Quebec.

P&WC also makes engines for helicopters, regional airliners, and smaller aircraft.

The company has also put a hiring freeze in place and said it was looking at other measures to try to lessen the impact on employment levels.