Textron cancels Cessna Columbus program - The Business Review (Albany):

modestofyeyko.blogspot.com
In April, the company announced it woulxd suspendthe program, leadiny Cessna leaders to say it would only be a mattefr of time until the project came But in Thursday’s filing with the SEC, Textron said “Upon additional analysis of the business-jetf market related to this product offering, we decided to formallyt cancel further development of the Citation Columbus.” Textron says it alreaduy had incurred about $50 million in capitalized tooling and facilityu costs related to the project. It says it will recordc a non-cash pre-tax charge of about $43 milliohn for the first two quarter s of 2009 to reflect the impairmentg of the facility andtoolingh assets.
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, who was in Denve Friday at a conference, had not heard the Columbud project was being canceled until asked about it by the WichitawBusiness Journal. “I’m disappointed,” Brewer says. “... We believer this is part of the futur e for the cityof Wichita. We’re just really disappointexd thatit happened.” At the same he says, he understands the economic climate has forcecd businesses to make tough decisions. The projectr was to have built 600,000-square-foot finall assembly building at Cessna where the majority ofthe $27 million business jet would be built.
Therd was also to have been a 45,000-square-foot physicalk plant to serve themain building. Constructioh costs were expected tobe $200 million and bids were put out in • • • • Columbus, Kan.-based Inc. Apargt from the loss in construction jobs, the Wichita area now appeard to have lost out for good onthe 1,000 direct jobs and the 3,00o0 spin-off jobs the program was estimated to create.
It also appeares likely that Cessna will have to pay backthe $10 millionn it received in city and counth incentives and the $33 million it received from the state for the Like Brewer, Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton says he is disappointec to hear the news of the “I think most Wichitans and the business community looked at that as a big he says. “It takes a littls bit of the wind out of the sails for Cessnza andgeneral aviation. It could have been a huge boos to Wichita over the next couplew years and I think everybodysaw that.” Nortob says he hopes the project will be able to returnj somewhere down the line.
The businesz plan that was putin place, he says, stilll could be a good fit.