Pratt & Whitney layoffs hit Longueuil

More jobs lost in Nova Scotia, Alberta

Aircraft engine-builder Pratt & Whitney Canada is laying off 40 non-union salaried employees at its main Longueuil plant immediately, saying recovery from the 2009 global economic downturn has been slower than expected and it must trim costs.

Worldwide, the small turbine builder will lay off 100

Recovery from the 2009 downturn has been slower than it expected.

salaried staff, Annick Lambert, manager of corporate communications, said Thursday.

Besides the 40 Longueuil layoffs, there will be 10 at the Halifax, Mississauga and Alberta operations and 50 more overseas.

The company said it has already curtailed all new hiring in its efforts to deal with global market uncertainties. It has also restricted employee travel and the use of outside consultants. Pratt says it wants to minimize the impact of the layoffs.

The staffers being laid off in Canada will get severance and outplacement services, Lambert said.

Of the 40 laid off in Longueuil, 26 were willing to go early and leave with full benefits and severance.

The other 14 will get severance and outplacement help.

P&WC said its R&D activities are not affected – it spends around $400 million annually on a range of programs – and it must be right up to speed when fuel prices ease and the small turbine market expands again. One program covers a new highefficiency engine for larger regional turboprops. Pratt & Whitney Canada, owned by U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp., has 9,000 employees worldwide, including 5,000 in Quebec.

The Inter national Air Transport Association this week downgraded the airline industry’s 2012 profit outlook due to soaring oil prices. Orders for new aircraft and engines are likely to be delayed.