East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney and the union representing 3,000 of the jet-engine maker’s employees in Connecticut opened bargaining Wednesday for a new contract to replace the one expiring May 1.

The negotiations between Pratt and Locals 700 and 1746, District 26 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are expected to end with a contract vote on May 1.

In a joint statement from Pratt and the union, the two sides said there will be no media statements during negotiations about the issues at the bargaining table.

The current contract dates back to 2016.

The contract talks come as Pratt is recovering from a steep downturn caused by COVID-19 that grounded many of its customers’ airline fleets.

Pratt made significant workforce reductions during the pandemic that it will not reverse as customers return to pre-pandemic airline business.

Pratt’s parent company, Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Technologies Corp said in January 2021 it was cutting 16,500 commercial aviation jobs worldwide at Pratt and Collins Aerospace, a 20% drop. In Connecticut, the job losses amounted to 450.

As of last November Pratt, with manufacturing sites in East Hartford and Middletown, employed more than 11,000 workers in Connecticut. It generated sales last year of $18.15 billion, up 8% from 2020 during the worst of the pandemic.

Greg Hayes, chief executive officer of Raytheon, said in February that Pratt may not deliver about 70 engines to Airbus in the first quarter due to casting shortages, highlighting persistent supply chain problems. The shortage will hold down growth in the first quarter ending Thursday, he said.

Pratt is set to open a casting foundry and airfoil production facility in Asheville, North Carolina. Raytheon said it expects lower costs to generate $180 million in annual savings.

Raytheon announced in February that Shane G. Eddy, senior vice president and chief operations officer, was appointed president of Pratt. He succeeds Christopher T. Calio who was elevated to chief operating officer of Raytheon.

Raytheon said in February it’s the target of a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the hiring practices at its aviation divisions, Pratt and Collins Aerospace.

The defense and aviation giant said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it was recently advised that it’s a target of the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. It says it’s cooperating with the investigation.

The investigation has focused on alleged hiring restrictions between and among jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and suppliers of outsourced engineering services, Raytheon said. The subpoena also included requests regarding Collins Aerospace, Raytheon said.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at [email protected]. Stephen Singer can be reached at [email protected].

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