Piper Aircraft Inc. laid off 300 employees on Feb. 10, according to Vero Beach (Fla.) newspaper and television reports.
In a prepared statement, Piper confirmed the layoffs, citing the economic downturn as its reason. “The business is planning to close for one week in April and July to avoid building up unnecessary inventory and to provide time to assess rapidly changing market conditions,” said Piper spokesman Mark Miller is an e-mail to journalists. “These shutdowns will be without pay and will affect all employees in the company, from executive management to hourly manufacturing employees.”
Miller warned: “If market conditions continue to deteriorate, it may be necessary for the company to take additional actions.”
Employees told reporters they were surprised that the company did not hold a meeting to tell workers what was happening. Instead, employees were gathered together in small groups where they were told they were being laid off, news stories said.
