Tuesday, February 26, 2013

D-Jet, 200 workers idled as Diamond restructures

By Randy Richmond, The London Free Press
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 6:34:49 EST AM

Diamond Aircraft has suspended its D-Jet program and laid off most of its 240 workers while it tries to restructure.

Poor sales of its piston aircraft and high costs of D-Jet development have forced the company to restructure, Peter Maurer, president and chief executive, said in a release Monday night.

“We want to hire back as many employees as possible, as quickly as possible, but the exact number and timing will be determined as we develop our restructuring plans in the coming weeks,” Maurer said in the release.

“Regrettably we need to suspend activity on the D-Jet program, pending the securing of additional funding.”

A small group of workers will continue to fill orders for aircraft and parts, and provide service to customers, Maurer said.

The D-Jet, a five-seat, light, single-engine jet that will sell for about $1.5 million, has had a turbulent ride at Diamond.

In 2008, Diamond got approval to build the D-Jet with a $19.6-million research and development loan from the federal Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative.

It also received $10 million from the Ontario government.

But the next year, hit hard by the recession, Diamond asked for another $35 million from the federal government because of cost overruns.

The federal government rejected the request in 2011, leading to hundreds of layoffs.

But things seemed to be turning around by the end of 2011 when Diamond's London operations were sold to Medrar Financial in Dubai.

Last March, the company reported sales of its piston-powered aircraft were climbing, increasing by 33% over 2011.



Source:   http://www.lfpress.com

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