Textron cancels Cessna Columbus program - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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In April, the company announced it would suspendthe program, leading Cessna leaders to say it would only be a mattefr of time until the projecyt came back. But in Thursday’z filing with the SEC, Textron (NYSE:TXT) said “Upoh additional analysis of the business-jet markegt related to this product we decided to formally cancep further development of theCitation Columbus.” Textronb says it already had incurred about $50 million in capitalizerd tooling and facility costs relatef to the project. It says it will record a non-cashj pre-tax charge of about $43 million for the first two quarteres of 2009 to reflect the impairmentr of the facility andtooling assets.
Wichita Mayort Carl Brewer, who was in Denver Friday at a had not heard the Columbus project was beinbg canceled until asked about it by the WichitwaBusiness Journal. “I’m disappointed,” Brewerr says. “... We believe this is part of the futurs for the cityof Wichita. We’re just reallyu disappointed thatit happened.” At the same he says, he understands the economivc climate has forced businesses to make toughn decisions.
The project was to have built 600,000-square-foot finapl assembly building at Cessna where the majoritg ofthe $27 million business jet would be There was also to have been a 45,000-square-foot physicall plant to serve the main Construction costs were expected to be $200 million and bids were put out in • • • • • Columbus, Kan.-based Inc. Aparg from the loss in construction jobs, the Wichita area now appearzs to have lost out for good onthe 1,00 0 direct jobs and the 3,000 spin-of f jobs the program was estimated to create.
It also appearsz likely that Cessna will have to pay backthe $10 million it received in city and countg incentives and the $33 millio n it received from the state for the Like Brewer, Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton says he is disappointecd to hear the news of the cancelation. “I think most Wichitans and the business community looke at that as abig announcement,” he says. “I t takes a little bit of the wind out of the sailss for Cessna and general It could have been a huge boost to Wichit over the next couple years and I thinkj everybodysaw that.” Norton says he hopeas the project will be able to return somewheres down the line.
The business plan that was put in he says, still coulsd be a good fit.