According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, business jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced Dec. 2 that it will lay off 1,100 workers nationwide, though the newspaper said it was unclear how many jobs will be lost at the Savannah, Georgia-based facility.
“As part of Gulfstream’s normal, disciplined business practice, we routinely evaluate our costs and workforce requirements,” spokesman Steve Cass said in an email to the newspaper. “As a result of these evaluations, we are streamlining our business to position Gulfstream for continued success.”
Chad Anderson, the president of aircraft broker Jetcraft, told Reuters Nov. 18 that he expected Gulfstream to slow production of some of its G450 and G550 aircraft after the company said it was “evaluating 2016 production rates” and preparing for a January 2016 announcement.
Gulfstream is developing and testing the company’s G500 test aircraft, which can carry up to 18 passengers 5,000 miles at Mach 0.85 and is set to join the G600 as part of a new family of jet aircraft.
During November’s National Business Aircraft Association convention, the company proudly displayed its first G500 test jet at Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas after a cross-country flight from its Savannah facility.
The newspaper said Gulfstream had been on a successful trajectory the past few years and in 2010, the company announced the hiring of 1,000 workers over the ensuing seven years. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the company, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, hired nearly three times that number in about half the time.
Meanwhile, aerospace analyst Brian Foley had predicted in August that sales of large business jets were slowing.
Foley analyzed jet delivery figures posted by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, which compared the first half of 2015 with 2014 and indicated big-cabin jet deliveries slid 12.7 percent while small- to medium-jet deliveries showed 3.4 percent growth.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Gulfstream’s business climbed with the success of its biggest business jets, including the G650, which can cost $65 million. Gulfstream said earlier this year that the demand was so high that customers wouldn’t receive the aircraft until late 2017.
The company’s new G500 and G600 were expected to be available in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Gulfstream has operations in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, and Wisconsin.
David Tulis
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