Private jet company Wheels Up ceasing operations and laying off 65 employees

A private jet charter firm that was bailed out by Delta Airlines last year is laying off 65 employees as it ceases operations at a Jefferson County airport.

New York- based W heels Up informed the state of the cuts at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in a Wednesday letter.

The layoffs will occur by June 16, C hief People Officer Brian Kedzior wrote, a nd affect all Wheels Up employees based at the airport except for “selected administrative and office employees that will be maintained due to their role supporting other Wheels Up’s locations.”

Those affected are generally mechanics and technicians, according to the letter.

Wheels Up said in a press release issued after this story was initially published that the cuts in Jefferson County were part of a l arger corporate restructuring. The company said it is also closing a maintenance facility in Cincinnati and opening a new one at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.

“The facility at PBI represents a strategic shift in the allocation of the company’s maintenance facilities, with a n end goal o f better aligning resources to the company’s geographic network and flight demand density,” the company said in a statement.

Wheels Up was founded in 2013 and aimed to become the Uber of private jets. The company, whose competitors include Netjets and Flexjet, went public in 2021 when it was bought by a special purpose acquisition company, commonly known as a SPAC deal.

Shares of UP have declined 97% since the company went public, however. Founder Kenny Dichter stepped down a s CEO last May. In August, t he company said there was “substantial doubt” it could continue operations. A consortium led by Delta, which had already been a major shareholder in the company, subsequently purchased the majority of Wheels Up.

Wheels U p had revenue of $ 1.25 billion last year, down 21 percent from 2022, according to its financial results released last month.

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, which is owned and operated b y Jefferson County, said it is the third- busiest airport i n Colorado, a fter D enver International Airport and Centennial A irport. A county spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding how long Wheels Up has operated at the airport.