Adam Aircraft to lay off 300

Adam Aircraft to lay off 300

By Paul Richfield

Adam Aircraft Industries has laid off around 300 of 800 employees at its three facilities and plans to suspend composite layup operations at its Ogden, Utah, site through early summer.

Around 170 workers at the company’s Centennial Airport plant in Colorado will lose their jobs, as will 80 in Pueblo, Colo., and 50 in Ogden. Meanwhile, the aircraft developer has asked Citibank to help it secure $75 million to $150 million in long-term financing. Duncan Koerbel, Adam Aircraft president, said he still expects the company to achieve FAA type certification of its A700 twinjet before the end of 2008.

“This is a temporary interruption and does not affect the long-range projections for the company,” he said.

By this summer, Adam also hopes to be producing its other aircraft, the A500 piston twin, at the rate of three aircraft per month. Once the A700 is certified, it will be built at the rate of 12 to 15 aircraft per month, Koerbel said. Adam claims an order backlog of 400 airplanes for the two types.

January 18, 2008