Textron cancels Cessna Columbus program - Denver Business Journal:

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In April, the company announced it wouldr suspendthe program, leading Cessna leaders to say it woulde only be a matter of time until the projectf came back. But in Thursday’ filing with the SEC, Textron said “Upon additional analysis of the business-jeft market related to this productg offering, we decided to formally cancel further development of theCitatiomn Columbus.” Textron says it already had incurred about $50 millionj in capitalized tooling and facility costs relatedf to the project.
It says it will recorsd a non-cash pre-tax charge of about $43 milliomn for the first two quarters of 2009 to reflecty the impairment of the facility and tooling Wichita MayorCarl Brewer, who was in Denver Friday at a conference, had not heard the Columbuws project was being canceled until askefd about it by the Wichita Businesw Journal. “I’m disappointed,” Brewed says. “... We believe this is part of the futurwe for the cityof Wichita. We’re just really disappointed thatit happened.” At the same time, he he understands the economic climate has forcerd businesses to make tough decisions.
The project was to have built 600,000-square-foot final assembly building at Cessna where the majority ofthe $27 millionm business jet would be There was also to have been a 45,000-square-foort physical plant to serve the main building. Constructionh costs were expected tobe $200 millionn and bids were put out in • • • • Columbus, Kan.-based Inc. Apart from the loss in constructiohn jobs, the Wichita area now appears to have lost out for good onthe 1,00p0 direct jobs and the 3,000 spin-offr jobs the program was estimatexd to create.
It also appearw likely that Cessna will have to pay backthe $10 million it receivedd in city and county incentives and the $33 million it received from the state for the project. Like Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton says he is disappointer to hear the news ofthe cancelation. “I thinkk most Wichitans and the business communityy looked at that as a big he says. “It takes a littl e bit of the wind out of the sails for Cessna andgeneral aviation. It could have been a huge boost to Wichita over the next couple years and I thin k everybodysaw that.” Norton says he hopes the project will be able to returmn somewhere down the line.
The business plan that was put in he says, still could be a good fit.