Pilatus Rounds Out This Week’s Bad News Brigade

Swiss airframer Pilatus Aircraft will cut workers' hours and scale back on production of its big single-engine turboprop, the PC-12NG. The cutback in hours will affect 350 employees (15 percent of the work force), but no layoffs are expected. Cancellations of orders for PC-12s are responsible for the decision, along with a reduction in orders for the company's military training aircraft. CEO Oscar Schwenk said he expects the downturn to be temporary and hopes for a rebound in the market next year, followed by growth in 2011.