Cessna CJ4

Textron, the manufacturing conglomerate, whose companies include aircraft builder Cesssa and Bell helicopter, is offering $650M in a cash tender which will provide financing through its lending arm Textron Financial.  This is the first offering since May for the Providence, R.I. based company.

During the recent recession, Textron Financial produced staggering losses for the company and the decision to use the lend again may be a further sign that the economic crisis is ebbing for both the economy as a whole and Textron in particular.

Technorati Tags: Cessna

Tags: Cessna

Cessna 400

In a letter to employees, Cessna Aircraft has announced further furloughs and cuts in the production of its single-engine aircraft line.  It stated that even though there are signs of the economy stabilizing, the aircraft market has not finished declining and more cuts were needed. 

Furloughs would not exceed more than the 500 already announced in a previous letter, dated June 12th, 2009.  Cuts will take place in factories that Cessna operates manafacturing singles in Columbus and Independence, Kansas. 

Letter to Cessna employees:

Since our return from the four-week furlough, the Senior Leadership Team has been evaluating recent developments in the overall economy and in our market segment. While we continue to see signs of stabilization in the overall economy, we are not ready yet to say we’vehit the bottom of this downturn. The truth is our markets remain soft. As Textron announced in their recent earnings call, we’vehad to reduce our jet production for 2009, and it is now apparent that we need to reduce the single-engine piston production schedule for 2009. This will result in a corresponding reduction in our work force in Independence and Columbus. This workforce adjustment, along with the planned reduction already announced in my June 12 memo, will still not exceed 500 employees.

We have also received a number of suggestions from employees regarding the additional requirement for another three weeks of furlough by the end of the year. We haverevisited the guidelines around the furlough requirement, taking into account our production goals and your input. Since many of you naturally looked to the short weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas to take required furlough time, it makes sense to close the facility for both these weeks, which we can do without compromising our delivery commitments to customers. We also received feedback requesting more flexibility in meeting the three-week requirement. As a result, we have made a few changes to the previously announced furlough schedule:

 -To allow employees greater flexibility in meeting the furlough requirements, we will track the required furlough time by hours instead of weeks. Every employee who is required to take seven weeks of furlough can now count 280 hours, instead of weeks or days. Any hours of vacation, PSL or Days Off Without Pay that have been taken since May 25 will count towards the 280 hour requirement.

-The week of Thanksgiving (Nov. 23 – 29) and the week of Christmas (Dec. 21 – 27) will be a mandatory company furlough for all Cessna employees, except those who are required to work to meet customer commitments or other critical requirements.

-The three days before Thanksgiving (Nov. 23 – 25) and the three days before the December holiday shutdown (Dec. 21 – 23) will count toward the furlough requirement.

-Individuals who work during these furlough days will still be responsible to fulfill the furlough requirement of 280 hours prior to December 31.

Technorati Tags: Cessna

Tags: Cessna