Pratt & Whitney said today it has laid off approximately 400 salaried workers, half of which worked in Connecticut.
A spokesman said declining defense contracts and legacy costs from expiring commercial contracts were among the reasons for the layoffs.
The layoffs follow a round of 575 voluntary buyouts in July and 200 in January.
“While the company is very pleased with the number of employees who participated in its recent voluntary separation program, these further reductions are necessary,” Pratt said in a statement in its website. “Pratt & Whitney continuously assesses staffing levels to ensure they are in line with current business and economic conditions. When necessary, we make staffing adjustments required to keep our cost structure competitive. Our long-term outlook is very bright; however, to secure this bright future we must address some near-term challenges.”
The company said it will provide severance pay, outplacement, continuation of group insurance and its employee scholar program benefits to the affected workers.
Pratt’s Hartford parent company, UTC Technologies Corp., previously announced it would cut about 7,000 jobs across its divisions and vacate 2.6 million square feet of facilities space in 2012 and 2013. Approximately 3,000 of those job cuts will take place this year, according to SEC filings.
