Monday, November 9, 2009

Hawker Beechcraft will close its Salina plant, Salina community officials announced today. No timetable for the closure was announced.

The Salina plant has 230 employees. Workers build wings for Hawker Beechcraft planes.

Salina city leaders said they put together a package of incentives to keep the plant open, but never heard back from Hawker Beechcraft.

Hawker has a lease on its Salina building through February 2012, and hasn't asked to be let out of the deal.

In a recent interview with KAKE Aviation reporter Chris Frank, Hawker CEO Bill Boisture said he expected to see job decreases in Salina.

--HBC Statement On Salina Plant Closing

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today announced that it is closing its Salina facility. The company informed its Salina employees and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) leadership this morning.

A timeline for the closure has not been established, as HBC officials continue formal conversations with IAM leadership. HBC has asked the IAM to actively partner in making a viable business case and exploring opportunities for relocating jobs to Wichita. The IAM leadership team has committed to responding to HBC’s request within the next few weeks.

In preparation for 2010, a critical year for the industry, HBC Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture initiated a series of meetings with IAM leadership. Boisture led the first meetings in mid-September, sharing his vision of a spirit of partnership and open communication to explore solutions to counter these challenging economic times and job losses.

The company is strongly committed to continuing a positive relationship with the IAM through these communications