About three-fourths of the 567 layoffs Sikorsky Aircraft plans to make worldwide will affect its Connecticut operations, The Hartford Courant reports.
Almost all of Sikorsky’s Connecticut pink slips will hit its unionized workers. The Stamford Advocate noted that some union members were offered voluntary separation, and that Sikorsky would not confirm the number of involuntary layoffs it would make.
Sikorsky officials and officials of parent company United Technologies Corp. have said that Connecticut is a particularly high-cost environment for manufacturing. Analysts also suggested that proposed defense spending cuts contributed to the company’s decision to cut staff.
Democratic Conn. Governor Dannel Malloy has called the state legislature into special session to focus on job creation. Gov. Malloy told The Connecticut Mirror that his state would focus on creating construction jobs, especially “those projects that are truly, truly shovel-ready.”
Connecticut has also enacted a tax increase of over $1 billion, which took effect July 1.