Still Darker Horizons Loom for Hawker Beechcraft Work Force

Bill Boisture, chairman and CEO of Hawker Beechcraft, has warned employees that further layoffs and employee-benefit cutbacks are likely. Boisture blamed low buyer confidence, difficulties in securing financing, and political disparagement of corporate aviation for the company's dire straits. Only an artificial 'paper gain' resulting from a bond buyback kept Hawker Beechcraft from losing money in the second quarter, compared with a $24.1 million profit during the same three months last year. Boisture said, "We continue to face significant economic challenges in our worldwide general and business aviation marketplace."