Collins Aerospace—which is part of RTX, the global aerospace and defense company that also includes Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon—is set to lay off 160 people who were part of its operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. These layoffs are effective 14 April. It has informed of the same online as per Iowa’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
While it is not known which departments will be impacted by the layoffs, it is reported that the company has taken the decision to cut costs and optimise its organisational structure. This move is also expected to help the firm better position itself to fulfil customers’ requirements.
The company reportedly plans to re-invest in high-priority areas, simplify processes and increase efficiency so that it can fulfil the demand for aerospace products more efficiently and effectively.
While the American technology company that supplies aerospace and defence products reportedly has a global workforce that is 80,000 strong, a good 9,000 from this workforce are working in Iowa, with the majority based out of Cedar Rapids. The company has a significant number of employees working out of Bengaluru, India too.
Collins Aerospace had witnessed an increase in adjusted sales and operating profit in 2024 compared to 2023.
This is not the first time that a headcount reduction exercise has taken place at Cedar Rapids. About 68 workers were laid off in 2023.
