Sabreliner hit by more job losses

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- An official with the Sabreliner Corporation said Thursday the federal budget sequester is to blame for new layoffs that have affected company employees in Perryville and other communities.

Steve Sperry, vice president of business development, confirmed the aircraft manufacturing and repair company laid off 54 employees at four company facilities in Perryville, Ste. Genevieve, Mo., St. Mary, Mo., and Clayton, Mo. Twenty-nine layoffs were at Sabreliner's main facility in Perryville.

"It hasn't been easy," Sperry said. "These are good folks with good families."

Sperry said the job losses can be attributed to the government sequester -- the federal spending reduction plan enacted by Congress that went into effect in March. The sequester's across-the-board cuts have hit military spending as well as other programs.

"When it comes to the sequester, the company has responded to 61 proposals from the federal government that fit our infrastructure," he said. "The problem is that the government hasn't been awarding any contracts."

Sperry said the sequester has hampered Sabreliner's ability to obtain government contracts.

"We by and large rely on government contracting," he said. "It amounts to anywhere from 90 to 95 percent of our sales. The downturn in military spending has resulted in fewer contracts which, unfortunately, has produced the layoffs."

The new layoffs come after job losses that occurred at Sabreliner in November and March. According to Sperry, in November the company laid off 180 employees because of cuts in the defense budget, and 80 employees were furloughed in March because a contract had ended.

"With the contract that ended, the downturn in military spending and the effects of the sequester now being felt, it's been like the perfect storm for all of us," he said.

According to Sperry, the company is experiencing a small increase in corporate business, but he added that corporate gains are hard to predict.

"It's not like government contracts, where you know what to expect," he said. "You don't know when private owners will want to bring their planes in."

As for the future, Sperry said in the coming weeks, economic indicators may decide whether things could get better at Sabreliner.

"We look forward to the day when we can bring our employees back to work," he said.

Calls to David Bruckerhoff, business agent for Teamsters Local 600 that represents the laid-off workers, were unreturned Thursday.

To help laid-off Sabreliner workers in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties, the Department of Economic Development's Employment Transition Team is scheduled to hold an informational meeting at 10 a.m. today in Perryville City Hall's council chambers at 215 N. West St. Amy Susan, the department's communications director, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian that the goal of the meeting is to provide affected workers with information on available area jobs that require similar skills.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent addresses:

1390 Route H, Perryville, MO

215 N. West St., Perryville, MO