Goodrich trims back layoffs in Everett

Herald Staff and Associated Press

Goodrich Corp. won’t be laying off as many Everett workers as anticipated, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The news came as Goodrich announced plans to close 16 plants and cut 2,400 workers nationwide — about 10 percent of its workforce — even though it posted a third-quarter profit increase.

Goodrich announced Sept. 24 that it planned to cut 400 to 450 workers here, nearly a quarter of its Everett operation.

The company attributed the decision to airline industry cutbacks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Airlines were parking planes at desert airports, which meant they no longer were sending those planes in for maintenance and inspections at Goodrich’s Everett hangars.

Since then, "customer demand has changed for the good," said spokeswoman Sherry Bergstrom.

Goodrich has already released 240 workers and expects "a handful more will be let go," Bergstrom said Thursday. "But we will not get near the 400 mark."

Goodrich said the companywide cuts it announced Thursday are expected to generate $125 million in annual savings. Goodrich also projects its 2002 earnings to be off by 10 percent compared to this year.

Goodrich said it earned $88 million, or 83 cents a share, in the July-September period, compared with $79.9 million, or 77 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding special items, Goodrich said its earned $89.1 million, or 84 cents a share, in the quarter. That beat forecasts of 80 cents a share by Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $1.05 billion from $932.4 million a year ago.

"Our aerospace business achieved higher results despite the increasing effect of a slowing economy on the commercial aviation market and the initial repercussions of the September terrorist attacks," David Burner, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

The attacks will reduce demand for some of Goodrich’s products and services as air travel declines and airline fleets contract, he said. An anticipated increase in demand for military, space and industrial gas turbine products will partially offset the reductions in the commercial aviation market, he said.

Goodrich expects to eliminate 2,400 aerospace and corporate positions and consolidate various aerospace operations, resulting in the closing of 16 facilities. Most of the cuts will occur in the first half of 2002, he said. The statement did not specify which plants will be closed.

Goodrich employs about 23,000 people in 180 facilities across 20 countries.

The company said it would take special charges of between $110 million to $130 million, with most to be taken in the fourth quarter.

The charges do not reflect any implications from Boeing Co.’s current evaluation of the 717 aircraft program, Goodrich said. If the program is curtailed or canceled, Goodrich would have to take a charge for a portion of its investment in engineering and inventory related to the aircraft.

For the first nine months of the year, Goodrich earned $343.6 million, or $3.24 a share, up from $247.7 million, or $2.31 a share, a year ago. Revenue for the nine months rose to $3.13 billion from $2.74 billion a year earlier.

Goodrich said revenue is expected to decline 5 percent to 10 percent in 2002, while earnings per share from continuing operations are expected to decline about 10 percent from the $2.65 to $2.75 per share expected in 2001. That would put earnings in the $2.39 to $2.48 a share range for 2002.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting earnings of about $2.58 a share in 2002.

Goodrich shares were up 2 cents a share at $20.68 in morning trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. Since Sept. 11, Goodrich shares have suffered along with other U.S. companies that operate in the commercial aerospace industry.