Jordan Cornell
Lantern Staff
Spirit Aerosystems announced on Friday, Jan. 24 that the company would begin laying off 2,800 of its employees. The layoffs were announced after Boeing suspended production of the 737 MAX. Investigators said Boeing, Lion Air and pilots are faulted for what caused two fatal crashes of 737 MAX planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people and contributed to the decision to halt production. An official press release from Friday, Dec. 20 found on Spirit’s website, further explained that the directive came straight from Boeing: “Spirit AeroSystems [NYSE: SPR] announced that Boeing directed the company yesterday to stop all 737 MAX deliveries to Boeing effective Jan. 1, 2020, due to Boeing’s announced temporary suspension of 737 MAX production. Accordingly, Spirit will suspend 737 MAX production beginning on Jan. 1. Spirit will continue to communicate with Boeing regarding the timetable for resuming production.”
It is estimated that Spirit builds around 70% of the MAX structure; however, work completed at the Wichita plant has not been implicated in either crash. Boeing-installed embedded software, however, has been acknowledged as a contributing factor in both crashes. A spokesperson for Spirit, Keturah Austin, said Spirit is laying off workers because of uncertainty about when production might resume for the 737 MAX, which was grounded last March.
Spirit is Wichita’s largest employer and the high number of projected layoffs drew attention from the community and state leaders. In response to the layoffs WSU Tech and Butler Community College collaborated to assist laid-off workers through this time. WSU Tech announced that they will offer tuition free training to the laid-off employees through its Wichita Promise scholarship program.
The Wichita Promise Scholarship can be used to pay tuition and fees for eligible classes or programs aimed at learning a new skill, building on an existing skill set or finishing an associate degree. Butler Community College is also working to help laid-off workers by partnering with organizations in the community and the Air Capital Commitment initiative. This initiative is backed by community supporters committed to retaining the Wichita area world-class workforce and companies. Butler Community College has also created short-term certificate programs in Cyber Security, Haz-Mat, Fire 1 and EMT in an attempt to help laid off workers get re-trained and back to work as quickly as possible.
“We want to be responsive to our community,” said Butler Director of Career Services, Aletra Chaney-Profit.“Butler County is affected because we have people who commute to jobs in our region that are laying off. We want to support them and be a viable option during their transition should they decide they need or would like re-training”
These opportunities could prove to be a valuable resource for laid off workers wondering what comes next. Twenty-year-old Tyler Fieser recently received his layoff notice, dated for Tuesday, March 10. Fieser said “he loved working for Spirit and the job paid well,” but what attracted Fieser more than the pay was the benefits that the company offered employees. Fieser plans to take advantage of the Wichita Promise program through WSU Tech after his last day at Spirit.
“I didn’t really have a set plan per se, but I am taking the opportunity to go back to school and get my degree in machining and programming,” Fieser said, “I’m enrolled into class, so for now I’m going to be going to school full time and will go from there. I’m going to WSU Tech and CNC Machining.”
The Wichita Promise program started in 2016 and is designed to increase Wichita’s skilled workforce by helping remove any barriers that prevent workers access to additional training. To date, the Wichita Promise program has helped over 1,000 individuals go through the program. Space for the program is limited and interested students should enroll as soon as possible.
Butler Community College has also developed a website for laid-off workers to get information about options they have when faced with a lay-off: https://www.butlercc.edu/life. This website has many resources, such as job openings, educational and training opportunities and connections to a variety of community resources. This website is just one of many outreach efforts Butler has made, including participating in a resource fair for laid off workers, which had over 900 attendees and multiple mini commercials on social media outlets. Butler is also currently working with the Workforce Centers and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) for training grants so dislocated workers won’t have to go in debt while out of work. Affected workers can also contact the Butler Career Services office for more information.
To retain the title as the Air Capitol of the World, Wichita, the surrounding communities, and the state of Kansas are working together to meet this challenge and provide laid-off workers the best opportunity to return to the workforce.