Aerospace parts-maker Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., said it is cutting jobs at its Windsor Locks site to reduce costs, The Associated Press reports.
The number of job cuts has not been determined, but they are needed to boost the company’s competitiveness, Hamilton Sundstrand spokesman Dan Coulom said Wednesday.
The Machinists union said on its website that the company will move 214 jobs from Windsor Locks, or about 20 percent of jobs covered by the union contract.
The company and the union have agreed on a “transition plan” to move some work to other Hamilton Sundstrand sites in the United States and overseas, Coulom said. The agreement includes a voluntary severance package with a one-time $7,000 payment, one week of severance pay for each year at work and medical and dental insurance for a year.
A union spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Revenue at Hamilton Sundstrand, which makes airline components such as electronics and has been a supplier to NASA, jumped 9 percent in the first quarter to $1.45 billion, according to earnings released by United Technologies on Wednesday. Profit rose by nearly 10.5 percent, to $244 million, in the January-March period.
Pratt & Whitney, another aerospace subsidiary of United Technologies, fought the Machinists through most of 2010 over the company’s plans to shut two jet engine repair shops in Connecticut. The union beat Pratt & Whitney in federal court, blocking the plant shutdowns.
The two sides eventually agreed to a labor contract that allows the plants to be closed this year while preserving many jobs through voluntary departures.
