The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Collins Aerospace laid-off employees from around the country, including many in Iowa, as the company experienced a large decline in sales due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for the company declined to say exactly how many employees were let go.

The Gazette reports that the employees affected by the layoffs will a separation payment, transition payment, and continuation of benefits. Collins Aerospace is owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said in a conference call earlier this week that Collins Aerospace was targeting $600 million in cuts. They had already cut $300 million including $90 million since the beginning of 2020. Officials did not say how many of those cuts are in the form of lost jobs.

The Gazette reports that Collins Aerospace sales were at $4.2 billion in the second quarter, down 36% from 2019. The company also went from $1.3 billion in operating profits in the second quarter of 2019 to $317 million in losses in the second quarter of this year. Raytheon officials say that the sales drop was "driven primarily by the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the aerospace industry."

Company officials said that they had hoped that previous cost-cutting measures would help offset the lower consumer demand. They were not. That is why the company enacted what they call "an involuntary separation program."

Collins Aerospace is the largest employer in Cedar Rapids and has over 10,000 workers in the state of Iowa.

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