Piper Aircraft will commence lay-offs at their Vero Beach factory, which is expected to cut the workforce by 15-20%.
According to the company, the action was necessary because of a recent downturn in the market.
"It was certainly an agonising decision for our company," Piper Marketing Director Jackie Carlon said this week, "but due to continued economic instability in several key regions around the world, most notably parts of Europe, Latin America and Asia, the company has to make a workforce adjustment, which has been driven by the fact that we're adjusting the production schedule to meet the current market demand."
After soft sales in the first quarter of 2015, analysts were predicting the general aviation market would recover in the northern Spring.
"Unfortunately that hasn't occurred at the pace we need it to, so we have to preserve the business," Carlon said.
Sales of Piper's trainer range were weak in the January-March 2015 quarter, with only 10 Archers and two Seminole shipments reported. No Warriors, Arrows or Seneca's were delivered.
One of Piper's primary focuses at the moment is getting the new M600 certified and delivered. The company will have a mock-up of the six-seat turbo-prop at Oshkosh this year, where it will be hoping to generate interest and perhaps secure forward orders.