Luxury jet maker Gulfstream will lay off 1,100 workers nationwide, though it’s unclear how many jobs will be lost in Georgia, the Savannah-based company announced Wednesday.
Two-thirds of Gulfstream’s 16,500 employees work in Savannah and Brunswick, so an employment hit is expected along the coast. A spokesman said 500 of the affected workers work directly for Gulfstream. The remainder are contractors.
“As part of Gulfstream’s normal, disciplined business practice, we routinely evaluate our costs and workforce requirements,” spokesman Steve Cass said in an email. “As a result of these evaluations, we are streamlining our business to position Gulfstream for continued success.”
The jet maker seemingly has been on a successful trajectory the past few years. In 2010, Gulfstream announced the hiring of 1,000 workers over the ensuing seven years. The company, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, hired nearly three times that number in about half the time.
The aerospace division of General Dynamics — mainly Gulfstream — reported $6.7 billion in revenue in the first nine months of 2015, up nearly 5 percent from the same period last year. Operating earnings were $1.3 billion, up 8.1 percent.
Business soared on the backs of its biggest business jets, including the G650, which can cost $65 million. Gulfstream earlier this year said its demand for the jets is so high customers won’t receive the swish plane until late 2017. Backlogs, overall, totaled $13.6 billion at the end of third quarter. The company also introduced two new models this year — the G500 and G600 — expected to be available in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Roughly half of the backlog of orders is headed overseas.
Chris Carr, the state’s commissioner of economic development, expects some Georgia layoffs. He called the planned cuts unfortunate, but he credited the company with healthy employment growth overall.
“Gulfstream is a tremendous company in this state, and they have continued to grow in a way that has outpaced anything they anticipated,” Carr said.
The Gulfstream-Georgia relationship has been mutually beneficial. The Georgia General Assembly last year approved legislation granting Gulfstream a permanent tax break — worth an estimated $29 million to $40 million a year — on all parts used to maintain, repair and upgrade the planes.
Gulfstream also runs operations in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and Wisconsin. Spokesman Cass wouldn’t say where the jobs would be cut. Georgia’s laid-off workers may be eligible for unemployment assistance and job retraining.
