700 Furloughed Spirit AeroSystems workers look to stay afloat during holidays, temp agencies have openings

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) —Spirit AeroSystems, Wichita’s largest employer, told 700 of its 7-67 and triple seven program workers will be furloughed.

KSN’s Derek Lytle spoke to an aviation analyst and a temp agency manager about what the furloughed are now faced with.

The furlough begins October 28th, and with the holidays around the corner, workers are scrambling to find temporary work. A temporary agency manager here in Wichita said they had already spoken to over a dozen spirit workers desperate for short-term wages.

Starr McCoy, a temp agency manager at LaborMax, said the furlough announcement for 700 Spirit AeroSystem workers was hard to hear.

“It is a little bit saddening to hear, with the holidays coming up, that people are really going to have to figure out what to do to be able to take care of their families,” said McCoy.

She said dozens of furloughed Spirit workers have already come through their doors. They have daily manufacturing and warehouse positions; they can come in at six in the morning and get a day.

“15 to 20 individuals who have reached out to us, just trying are figuring out what they can do because they’ve worked with that company for so long that they don’t know what the job market is right now, so they’re scared, and they’re trying to figure out how can I keep my family afloat,” said McCoy.

A furlough, Senior Analyst for the Teal Group, Bruce McClelland, said, is just the beginning.

“It’s a starting point; we’ll see where we are in 21 days. If nothing has been resolved in 21 days, then it’s another 21 days,” said McClelland.

He said Spirit’s move impacted people working on the 767 and 777 programs. They have built so many of those planes that they simply don’t have enough space to store more, meaning temporary cuts.

He believes that 33 thousand striking Boeing employees are another driving factor but that things will eventually return to a new normal.

“What is the other alternative? Boeing goes bankrupt and 33 thousand people in the Seattle area lose their jobs. It’s not going to happen, someway, or, maybe, it’s going to be resolved, maybe not one month, but maybe two months,” said McClelland.

McClelland said the order books are full, and the aviation industry, moving forward, should be healthy after the strikes are sorted out.

As for those furloughed workers, temp agency staff said that you can bring your I9 documents to one of our local agencies, and they should be able to find you a daily assignment.

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