Cessna begins four-week plant shutdown

Last Update: 6/23/2009 11:14 am

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Cessna begins four-week plant shutdown

WICHITA, Kansas – It was once Wichita’s largest employer, but Monday virtually no work at all was being done at Cessna as the plane manufacturer began a month break to save money.

A year ago Cessna looked recession proof with a large backorder of plane orders and more than 12,000 employees on payroll. Now, more than half of those workers are laid off and most of the employees who kept their jobs are being forced to take an unpaid month off as the assembly line grinds to a halt.

The thousands of employees forced to take a month-long furlough aren’t going to get much to make ends meet. They’ll be able to collect some unemployment from the state, but the United Way says they can’t take advantage of the services offered at the Laid-Off Worker Center because they’re not laid off and with over 13,000 employees out of a job in the area there’s only so much assistance to go around.

And you don’t have to go very far through the phone book to find companies feeling the ripple effect of Cessna’s layoffs and furloughs. AAA Air Support in Haysville crafts highly precise roll forms out of sheet metal to use in aircraft manufacturing. It’s a small business that at one time employed a dozen workers, but it’s now down to just five after seeing production plummet thanks to the Cessna slow down.

“You're not making as much money and the employees suffer,” said Robert Smith with AAA Air Support Inc. “We pride ourselves in taking care of the people who've helped us get to here. Anytime you mess with anybody's life or family it’s a sad thing.”

The employees laid-off from AAA Air Support can take advantage of the services provided from the newly re-opened Laid-off Worker Center, but the thousands of furloughs from Cessna won’t qualify. According to the Wichita Workforce Center, over 13,000 people in the Wichita area have lost their jobs thanks to the recession. More than 500 signed up for appointments for June – the most since the recession in 1983 and more than any month after the post 9/11 downturn. With furloughed Cessna workers out of a job for just a month, the United Way says it doesn’t have the resources to help.

“The whole issue of furloughs is something we’re examining – it’s a dynamic we haven’t dealt with before,” said Pat Hanrahan with the United Way of the Plains. “Certainly the Laid-Off Worker Center is for those who have been laid off and right now there’s such a need out there we have to look at the priority cases first.”

The Laid-Off Worker Center only sees people looking for help who make an appointment. It’s taking appointments this week for its July session. Just Monday alone KSN is told well over 200 people have already made appointments for a helping hand.

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