Sen. Kelly Statement on 109 Layoffs Announced at Sikorsky’s Stratford Headquarters

Stratford – State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) released the following statement regarding 109 Sikorsky layoffs at the company’s Stratford headquarters. On Tuesday reports indicated a total of 150 layoffs announced at Sikorsky’s Rotary and Mission Systems, including the 109 in Stratford.

“I am devastated to hear about yet another round of layoffs hitting the greater Stratford area. This news comes on the heels of nearly 600 layoffs in the Stratford and Shelton Optimum/Cablevision offices and the loss of 85 Sikorsky jobs that handled the repairs of Marine One helicopters. We need to help these families with immediate support and we also need to talk about long term solutions to put a stop to the endless cycle of jobs leaving our state. Now more than ever Connecticut needs to focus on creating an environment that welcomes new jobs, economic growth and opportunity,” said Kelly.

“When the public first learned about Lockheed Martin’s 350 layoffs, although we did not know exactly where they would be, I think we all feared they could hit Connecticut and the Stratford community. On July 18, the entire Stratford legislative delegation together wrote to the Department of Labor asking that they place Connecticut’s Rapid Response Team on standby should Lockheed Martin order layoffs in Connecticut. I hope that all resources are now ready to help our community at this time and I plan to follow up with the Department of Labor to make sure the state is doing everything possible to help these workers access the support, training and opportunities they need to secure new jobs.”