P.M. BRIEFING : Piper Closes Plant for 2 Weeks, Lays Off Over 75% of Workers

Financially troubled Piper Aircraft Corp. shut down its plant here for two weeks today and laid off more than three-fourths of its workers, a company spokesman said.

Joe Ponte, director of marketing, said that the layoffs are the result of a severe cash crunch and that the company does not plan to seek protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law.

About 580 workers will be on an extended layoff, he said. The rest of the nearly 1,100 employees will return to work March 12, after the shutdown, he said.

“We have a tremendous backlog in aircraft on order,” Ponte said in an interview.

About 300 people remain on the job to help deal with backlogs in aircraft deliveries, he said.

Piper, which manufactures aircraft for general aviation, was purchased by California investor M. Stuart Millar from Forstmann Little & Co. in 1987. No purchase price was disclosed.

Ponte said the company will go to a four-day workweek after the shutdown to help the company get back on its feet.

He said the problems resulted from a rapid expansion of the company after Stuart Millar bought the company in 1987.