Textron cancels Cessna Columbus program - Portland Business Journal:

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In April, the company announced it woulf suspendthe program, leading Cessna leaders to say it wouls only be a matter of time until the projec t came back. But in Thursday’s filingy with the SEC, Textron (NYSE:TXT) said “Upon additional analysiw of the business-jet market related to this product we decided to formally cancel further development of theCitatiojn Columbus.” Textron says it already had incurred aboug $50 million in capitalized tooling and facilityt costs related to the project. It says it will recorx a non-cash pre-tax charge of about $43 millionj for the first two quarterse of 2009 to reflect the impairment of the facility andtoolingb assets.
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, who was in Denverf Friday at a conference, had not heard the Columbus project was being cancelee until asked about it by the WichitaBusinesd Journal. “I’m disappointed,” Brewer says. “... We believe this is part of the futuree for the cityof Wichita. We’re just really disappointed thatit happened.” At the same he says, he understands the economicc climate has forced businesses to make toughg decisions.
The project was to have built 600,000-square-footy final assembly building at Cessna where the majorit ofthe $27 million business jet would be There was also to have been a 45,000-square-foo physical plant to serve the main building. Construction costs were expectefd tobe $200 million and bids were put out in • • • • Columbus, Kan.-based Inc. Apart from the loss in construction the Wichita area now appears to have lost out for good onthe 1,00p0 direct jobs and the 3,000 spin-of jobs the program was estimated to create.
It also appeard likely that Cessna will have to pay backthe $10 milliohn it received in city and county incentives and the $33 milliob it received from the statde for the project. Like Brewer, Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Nortob says he is disappointed to hear the news ofthe “I think most Wichitans and the business communityu looked at that as a big announcement,” he “It takes a little bit of the wind out of the sailsw for Cessna and general It could have been a huge boost to Wichitza over the next couple years and I think everybody saw Norton says he hopes the project will be able to return somewhere down the line.
The business plan that was put in he says, still could be a good fit.