Posted on July 28th, 2010
AIN reports that in a letter to Hawker Beechcraft employees July 23, vice president of human resources Rich Jiwanlal dismisses union allegations that the Wichita-based OEM is planning cuts that “could shrink Hawker’s total hourly work force by as much as 75 percent within the next two years, without a guarantee of even the last few jobs remaining.” In his letter, Jiwanlal did not mention the union, but said, “News sources have speculated that 50 to 75 percent of our company’s workforce is being reduced. This information is simply not true.” He further pointed out that no employer can guarantee having no job losses, especially in this economy. And he reiterated what Hawker Beechcraft chairman and CEO Bill Boisture said in his own letter to some 6,000 Hawker employees in Wichita three days earlier: that the company is “exploring ways to address our company’s overall footprint, particularly in our production and manufacturing areas.” Both letters were in response to reports that Hawker is planning to adjust its cost structure, including moving parts of the business to other locations within and outside the United States. Both Boisture and Jiwanlal emphasized that “no decisions have been made at this time regarding alternate locations.”
