Aviation company to lay off 330 workers at Illinois airport

CAHOKIA, Ill. (AP) - A St. Louis-based aviation company is expected to lay off about 330 employees at an airport in southwestern Illinois as its parent company plans to discontinue some of its services.

Jet Aviation St. Louis Inc. officials announced Tuesday that its parent company, General Dynamics, plans to discontinue the plane finishing work it performs at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, the Belleville News-Democrat reported .

Jet Aviation spokesman Charlie Bosworth said the layoffs will affect a little more than half of the company's staff.

"Jet Aviation regrets this action's effect on our employees and their families," Bosworth said. "Affected employees will receive severance packages that include pay, benefits and employment assistance."

Bosworth said the company has notified its employees.

"The reductions will be implemented in several phases through the first quarter of 2018 as manpower needs change month to month," Bosworth said. "The first phase will affect approximately 100 employees who are now being notified that they will be laid off the first week of October."

General Dynamics is planning to move another subsidiary, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., into the Cahokia airport. Gulfstream spokeswoman Heidi Fedak said the Cahokia site will be the company's ninth service center in the United States.

"The St. Louis facility, which is already part of the General Dynamics family, is ideally situated for providing Gulfstream operators a regional maintenance resource," Fedak said.

General Dynamics purchased Gulfstream in 1999 and Jet Aviation in 2008.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com