Tue, Dec 22, 2009
Recent Cessna Closing A Symptom Of Broader Economic
Problems
With the
recent announcement that Cessna
will close its plant in Columbus, GA, aviation companies with
operations in Georgia say they are wrestling with some of the worst
economic conditions in decades.
With GAMA reporting a nearly 60 percent drop in piston aircraft
sales, and a business jet drop of 38%, the trend goes far beyond
Georgia.
Cessna spokesman Dout Oliver told The Atlanta Journal
Constitution “We abandoned that [new] building outright. The
building’s for sale.” Oliver called the recent
economic upheaval a "perfect storm."
But not all the news is bad. The paper reports that while some
aviation sectors have been hit hard, overall aerospace employment
in Georgia has dipped only slightly in 2009. Military aircraft
manufacturing has been strong due to international orders,
including C-130's being built for Australia, Italy, Britain and
others. The Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta where the plane is
built has increased employment by about 600 jobs this year, despite
the pending end of the F-22 program in 2011.
There are a number of parts manufacturers in the state as well,
and they have the added benefit of being able to draw on a
replacement part market for things like jet engines. However many
of them are still working on existing inventory, and the number of
new parts being produced has declined.
The hardest hit sectors are the piston and business jet markets,
for obvious reasons, though again, the AJC reports, the bizjet
market has been able to relay on some overseas sales much as the
military manufacturers have to help the bottom line. And
Gulfstream, with headquarters in Savannah, has just flown but the
G650 and the G250, the newest additions to the Gulfstream line.
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