Eclipse Aviation Furloughs 800

Feb 18, 2009
Fred George



Bankrupt Eclipse Aviation furloughed 800 of its 850 employees today as a result of a longer than expected sale of its assets to EclipseJet Aviation International, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based ETIRC Aviation S.a.r.l. EclipseJet Aviation was using up to $20-million in bridge financing from ETIRC and Al Mann, the first and second largest shareholders to tide itself over until completion of the asset sale at the end of January. Now the money has run out.

Mike McConnell, president and GM of Eclipse Aviation's customer division said that only a "minimal staff to guard company assets" would be retained "until the deal closes." He added that Eclipse Aviation made its last scheduled payroll and that all furloughed employees would continue to receive full benefit packages.

"This is taking a lot longer than anyone expected. We believe the closing will be very, very, very soon. Our expectation is that the furlough will be very short lived," McConnell said.

Photo: Eclipse