Aerospace company to close its Macon facility, laying off 89 workers

Canada-based Bombardier, which came to Macon eight years ago, is planning to leave by the end of this year and lay off 89 employees.

Bombardier Inc., based in Montreal, arrived at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in late 2009, and it took over the airplane maintenance facility occupied at the time by Atlantic Southeast Airlines. ASA was moving out to consolidate some its operations.

Now, Bombardier is doing the same thing.

“After careful deliberation, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft Customer Services has decided to consolidate its East Coast operations and transfer maintenance work to our facility in Bridgeport, West Virginia,” Nathalie Siphengphet, senior advisor, media relations and public affairs, commercial aircraft, said in an email to The Telegraph. “The transfer will occur during the last quarter of 2017. The closing of our Macon facility will translate in the layoff of its current 89 employees by year’s end.”

While the work is transferred from Macon to West Virginia, the company will be “working to provide our employees with the resources to help them through this transition,” Siphengphet said.

“We know that the outcome of our decision today is not only difficult for those employees, but also for their family members and colleagues,” she said.

The closure is unfortunate and Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority will do what it can to help, said acting director Stephen Adams.

“We are saddened by the news and will do everything we can to assist the displaced workers and their families,” Adams said in a text. “The (industrial authority) will continue to invest in the Middle Georgia Regional Airport to position Macon-Bibb County for future opportunities.”

When Bombardier announced it was coming to Macon, the company planned to subcontract ASA’s maintenance work since ASA flew Bombardier planes. It leased two hangars with a total of 80,000-square-feet of space and an 8,000-square-foot training center at 100 East Drive at the airport.

At the time, the city of Macon agreed to contribute about $32,000 a year for five years to reduce the rent payments on the lease, one of several incentives Bombardier got to maintain the facility. Mayor Robert Reichert and other economic development officials said at the time the deal would help save 120 ASA workers, as Bombardier agreed to retained that work force.

“These are good jobs and we need to keep them,” Pat Topping, senior vice president of the Macon Economic Development Commission, said at the time.

In May 2012, Bombardier signed an exclusive nine-year agreement for maintenance work with Indianapolis-based Republic Airlines. Bombardier agreed to perform all heavy maintenance work at its service centers in Macon and Tucson, Arizona, on Republic’s 32 Q400 aircraft through June 2021.

At at time, Bombardier had about 160 workers, and it expected to add more as needed, a company official said then.

In May this year, Bombardier announced a major expansion project at its West Virginia facility “that will more than double its capacity to provide heavy maintenance, component repair and overhaul support for CRJ Series and Q Series aircraft,” according to a release on the company’s website. “Over the last few years, Bombardier has secured several long-term heavy maintenance contracts — covering maintenance and repairs for commercial aircraft.”

The Macon maintenance center has received the Federal Aviation Administration’s AMT Diamond Award of Excellence, which is the highest honor for an aviation maintenance employer, during the past five years, the release stated.

In 2002, when Atlantic Southeast Airlines built the training center next to its maintenance facility in Macon, the company had about 250 employees. In 2005, Delta Airlines sold ASA to SkyWest Airlines Inc. and it became a subsidiary of that company. Two years later, ASA announced it would end passenger service here but retain the maintenance operations. Georgia Skies replaced ASA as the midstate’s primary passenger carrier. Also in 2007, ASA transferred about 60 administrative jobs from Macon to its Atlanta headquarters.

Bombardier manufactures a number of transportation systems including commercial aircraft, business jets and rail transportation equipment, systems and services, according to its website. In the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2016, the company had revenues of $16.3 billion.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Aerospace company to close its Macon facility, laying off 89 workers."