Bell cutting 315 more jobs, mostly in Fort Worth

Bell Helicopter is trimming 315 more jobs, most of them in Fort Worth, as it continues to adjust to reduced production of the V-22 Osprey.

The Fort Worth-based company said Tuesday that the reduction in force will affect both management and nonmanagement, including some union members. The company has also suspended all external hiring.

In a message to employees, President and CEO John L. Garrison attributed the cuts to “significantly lower V-22 production, the reduced demand across the global commercial rotorcraft industry and our customers’ continued demand for cost concessions.”

Regarding the V-22, the company’s largest single program, he said Bell is producing about 50 percent less aircraft than a year ago as the military winds down its purchases of the tiltrotor, which is assembled in Amarillo with parts produced in Fort Worth.

V-22 deliveries are expected to decline to 21 this year from 37 last year. Through the end of 2014, the company had delivered 293 V-22s to the military, with production peaking in 2013 at 41.

“Our continued success depends on our ability to reestablish our cost structure into one that is competitive in today’s market — a market that is not only softer on both the military and commercial fronts, but where the military continues to challenge every element of our cost and where every commercial dollar counts,” Garrison wrote.

Because the V-22’s biggest systems, such as the drive and rotor blades, are made in the Fort Worth area, the slowdown in production has affected employment more in Fort Worth than in Amarillo, Bell spokeswoman Susan Gordon said.

The company, which announced a series of layoffs last year, including 320 in October, said that after this reduction, it will have about 4,750 employees in the Fort Worth area.

Most of those are at the company’s expanded facilities along Texas 10 in east Fort Worth. Others are at facilities in Arlington.

Last year, Bell opened a four-story headquarters in Fort Worth, bringing together 1,100 workers who had been at several locations throughout Tarrant County.

The new building, featuring conference rooms and other modern meeting spaces, was part of a $235 million makeover of its sprawling campus aided by a $13.5 million, 10-year tax incentive package from Fort Worth.

As part of that deal, Bell committed to keep 4,500 employees in Fort Worth through 2023, the company said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Bell cutting 315 more jobs, mostly in Fort Worth."