Mon, Apr 07, 2008
Company Says More Work Will Go To Romania
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 04.07.08 1220 EDT:
Aero-News continues to investigate reports Liberty Aerospace cut a
part of its 180-person workforce in Melbourne, FL last week, as the
fledgling planemaker looks to shift more manufacturing work
overseas.
Florida Today reports Liberty CEO Keith Markley said the company
plans to outsource more production work to eastern Europe, where
the company employs 160 people. Company officials termed the
workforce shift a "reorganization," but declined to state how many
workers in Melbourne were laid off.
"As Liberty continues to expand production, the expense
associated with this growth could be absorbed in the Romanian
facility much better than in Florida," Markley wrote in a company
statement.
Liberty's Romanian partner will manufacture "certain carbon
fiber and other metal components" for the aircraft, according to
the planemaker.
The announcement came as a surprise to Richard Ennis, Melbourne
International's executive director. "We've heard nothing official
or unofficial," said Ennis. "We would be surprised and disappointed
to learn if it were true."
Liberty's news of layoffs came as shock to those in Melbourne
for another reason -- in December, the planemaker said it planned
to add up to 50 more workers in Florida, to aid in ramping up to
produce a 600-plane order in China. Those workers were to assist
China's Anyang Angel Aero Science and Technology in establishing
production.
ANN has calls into company officials, and has spoken to several
Liberty workers. Stay tuned.
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