Blumenthal Urges Pratt And UT To Avoid Layoffs

Connecticut’s Attorney General has added his voice to those urging Pratt & Whitney to avoid layoffs at its Cheshire repair plant. The jet engine maker wants to reduce its workforce there by more than 100. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

Richard Blumenthal has written to Pratt and to United Technologies, Pratt’s parent company, saying the loss of well-paying jobs will badly harm the state’s economy and devastate families. The Cheshire plant was one of those at the center of a court case earlier this year, when a judge ruled that Pratt must keep the facility open, at least until the expiry of its union contract in December. Pratt had previously announced its intention to close Cheshire, and another repair site in East Hartford, with the potential loss of a thousand jobs.

After the ruling in mid-August, the jet engine maker said it would have to lay off 129 workers from Cheshire because of a reduced workload. Blumenthal in his letter questions whether those layoffs are necessary, saying he understand the Cheshire workforce is fully occupied with employees working 20 percent overtime. He says instead of layoffs, the company should consider furloughs or reductions in overtime if those steps are necessary to achieve cost savings while preserving jobs.

The company has said the plant is repairing 30% fewer engines than it was at this time last year. Blumenthal reminds executives that laid off workers face the worst job market in decades with limited prospects for quick reemployment and he urges them to spare workers and their families the devastation of unemployment.

Management will begin negotiations with the machinists’ union this fall to hammer out a new three year contract – the union is hoping to be able to preserve the job security language that prevented the closures.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.