Duluth's Cirrus Design Corp. isn't the only airplane-maker throttling back operations in light of the nation's recent economic downturn.
Piper Aircraft Inc. announced this week its plans to trim 2009 production by 40 percent from last year's level. Accordingly, the Vero Beach, Fla.-based company also has trimmed its work force by 12 percent, laying off 150 employees. Piper also has cut its manufacturing operations from five to four days per week, the Palm Beach Post said.
For its part, Cirrus has eliminated more than
250 positions since Septem-ber 2008. About 500 workers were temporarily furloughed at the end of November, when the company idled production lines in Duluth and Grand Forks, N.D., adjusting to falling sales of airplanes. The furlough affected 335 workers in Duluth and 165 in Grand Forks. Most of those furloughed employees recently returned to work, but about 100 remain on furlough.
