A jet company with a facility in Arkansas said Friday that about 6 percent of its workforce will be laid off.
Dassault Falcon Jet President and CEO John Rosanvallon said in a statement that the number of contractors at the Little Rock Completion Center had already been reduced and that the company had introduced an early-out program.
Rosanvallon said that “current business aviation market conditions remain challenging throughout our entire industry” and cited “worldwide economic and political uncertainty” as well as supply and demand problems as issues that prompted the layoffs.
The company’s jets are made in France, then flown to Dassault Aircraft Services – Little Rock, where workers provide the finishing touches on the planes, including installing interiors and painting the jets, according to the company’s website. The Little Rock location also houses a service center where the planes can be inspected and maintained.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in February that Dassault employed about 1,800 people in Little Rock.
Dassault's Little Rock location is its largest facility in the world, according to the company’s website.