After months of attempting to stave off layoffs by reducing employee hours and implementing wage cuts, Duncan Aviation has been forced to lay off employees for the first time in the company’s 53-year history. The reduction affects 304 positions– 170 at the Lincoln, Neb. facility; 122 at Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Mich.; and 12 in the company’s network of smaller satellite avionics and engine locations throughout the U.S.
“It has been a tough, emotional time for everyone with connections to Duncan Aviation,” said Todd Duncan, chairman of Duncan Aviation. “We have always been proud of being able to weather tough times with our work force intact. This recession, however, has been drastically different for our industry from any other recession we have seen. The sharp decline in flying by companies that own business aircraft combined with global business closings, reductions in spending and political grandstanding against our very livelihoods has created an environment that has left us no choice but to downsize.”
