Textron Aviation Extends Furloughs of Roughly 7,000 Employees

Textron Aviation announced Thursday that last month’s furloughs would be extended.

The March 18 announcement affected roughly 7,000 mostly U.S.-based employees. The Wichita-based company, which makes Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker airplanes, said the furlough was to help minimize employee’s exposure to COVID-19 and because of sluggish economic conditions during mass stay-home orders. The furloughs were originally said to last four weeks and be staggered, starting March 23 and going until May 29.

“Details regarding furlough weeks, reduced work weeks and the timing of these will vary depending on job function and location,” the company said in a news release. “Some functions will alternatively be implementing reduced work weeks beginning in late April.”

Employment status and health benefits will not change during the furlough, the company said. Furloughed workers can use “vacation, earned time off (ETO), unpaid time, unemployment benefits or a combination of these options” during the furlough period, spokesperson Sarah White said in an email.

Textron is the second-largest company in the city, with roughly 9,500 employees, according to the Greater Wichita Partnership. The company has roughly 10,000 employees in Kansas, White said.

“Throughout the furlough period, the company continues to implement additional cleaning and social distancing protocols to help mitigate the spread of the virus and ensure employees feel safe when coming to work,” the release said.

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