Pratt & Whitney plans to cut 60 jobs at plants in Lansing, Holt

LANSING –Pratt & Whitney AutoAir will cut roughly 60 employees at its plants in Lansing and Holt.

Pratt & Whitney said Monday that they jobs will be cut on Nov. 8. The Connecticut-based company, which employs nearly 800 people locally, cited fluctuations in orders as the reason for the layoffs.

“Pratt & Whitney continuously assesses staffing levels to ensure they are in line with current business needs and makes the adjustments necessary to maintain our competitiveness and future growth,” said John Thomas, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, in a statement.

Separation benefits will be available for the affected employees and will offer “enhanced benefits” to its most senior employees, Thomas said. The company negotiated the separation package with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Pratt & Whitney, based in East Hartford, Connecticut, designs, manufactures and services jet engines and auxiliary power units, the company said. At its facilities in Lansing and Holt, Pratt & Whitney makes fan blades for its engines and does repairs.

The layoffs are not part of a wider decline in the industry, the company said.

Pratt & Whitney continues to fight a federal whistle-blower lawsuit that alleges the company used a faulty testing procedure and potentially defective engines were sold to the military, according to the Hartford Courant.

Regulators in India also have threatened to ground planes with Pratt & Whitney engines if the company doesn't fix them.

Contact reporter Craig Lyons at 517-377-1047 or calyons@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @craigalyons.