UTC to Cut 1,500 Jobs in CT

The number of people looking for work in Connecticut will grow by 1,500. That’s how many jobs United Technologies is cutting in Connecticut this year.

The cuts, about 6 percent of the company’s workforce in the state, will target administrative, sales and overhead positions. The layoffs are part of the 11,600 jobs the company will cut across the global workforce.

The worldwide recession is taking a big toll on global companies, particularly the aerospace and manufacturing industries, Peter Gioia, an economist with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said.

The company said the markets for commercial aerospace and global construction have worsened since December as worldwide construction and aerospace orders slowed.

Chief Executive Louis Chenevert, in an interview Thursday, said that Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand will likely take the hits, which will come primarily among white-collar workers.

UTC now employs 26,000 in Connecticut.

The presidents of Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand said other cost-cutting measures would include hiring freezes and reductions in advertising, travel and other discretionary expenses. The companies will expanded operations in lower-cost foreign countries to minimize any further layoffs.

Pratt & Whitney is implementing a five-day mandatory furlough for workers this year and they have not ruled out "hourly workforce adjustments."

UTC officials said they have no choice but to take these measures. The company expects 2009 revenues to be nearly $3 billion less than what was estimated three months ago.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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