Thursday, July 15, 2010

Machinist union leaders, coming out of the latest session with company leadership, say they fear Hawker Beechcraft's future presence in Wichita could be nearly an empty shell of what it is today.

Steve Smith, a Hawker Beechcraft employee says, "Well, I'm very concerned they're definitely shipping them out. We just don't know how long we've got."

There is growing concern among Hawker Beechcraft employees about the future of their jobs.

"I guess it's kind of sad when you've been here twenty-some years and they just go ahead and ship it on out," another employee comments.

Hawker Beechcraft and International Association Machinists union leadership have met on occasion to talk about the loss of local jobs.

A letter from union leadership following a Wednesday meeting says, "The outlook given by the company was bleak for the future."
"The jobs are very much at risk and we're talking about the very real possibility of massive...massive cutbacks," says Machinist Union spokesman Bob Woods.

Woods says these wouldn't be layoffs with the possibility of returning. He says any job loss would be permanent because the work would leave Wichita. IAM district president Steve Rooney's letter to workers says Hawker Beechcraft could shrink by as much as 75% within two years. That would amount to thousands of jobs.

"Well, it would end up covering the entire facility," Woods adds.

Hawker Beechcraft has a history of sending jobs from Wichita to its facilities in Chihuahua, Mexico, including work done at their Salina plant.

Hawker Beechcraft issued this statement:

"Last September the company initiated a series of meetings to update the union leadership about serious challenges it faces during these unprecedented economic times. These conversations have included a spectrum of possibilities for the company's future footprint and the likely impact on its workforce in all its locations. The company values this partnership and believes that there is a great opportunity available to us to work together to influence a positive outcome."

"Moving jobs away from Wichita is a bad move by Hawker," Woods sum up.

Smith, on his way home from work for the day adds, "A lot of people are going to lose their jobs it sounds like."

The IAM leadership says this validates their recent 10-year contract with Spirit Aerosystems which the union says includes some assurances Spirit jobs will stay in Wichita. The union says there is no reason to reopen contract talks with Hawker unless they provide some job guarantees.