Michelle Slater
Latrobe Valley aircraft manufacturer GippsAero has confirmed it will cut a quarter of its staff by June 5 due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the aviation sector.
GippsAero – a subsidiary of Mahindra Aerospace – employs 88 people at its base, located at Latrobe Regional Airport.
The company issued a statement this morning that COVID-19 was significantly impacting the aviation sector.
“With reduced demand and increased uncertainty in the short to mid-term, GippsAero plans to scale down its workforce by 25 per cent,” the statement said.
“The duration of the crisis and the degree to which demand recovers versus pre-crisis levels is still yet unclear.
“General aviation operators have been hit hard by the crisis, and it has brought many operations to a halt.”
The Express understands that the company has already offered rounds of voluntary redundancies.
Gippsland Aeronautics was founded in 1977 before Indian automotive giant Mahindra Aerospace Company bought a majority stake in late 2009.
GippsAero manufactures utility aircraft the Airvan 10 and Airvan 8.
