Pratt & Whitney to Cut 2,000 Positions

Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney said it will cut about 2,000 jobs, or 6% of its global work force, by mid-2000 in a bid to boost profit and absorb a decline in production. The unit of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp. said 1,000 of the cuts will be made in Connecticut, where it employs 13,000 people, and the other 1,000 will be made in Florida, where it employs about 5,000. Pratt, the largest private employer in Connecticut, said it was offering early retirement to hourly workers in the state to minimize the need for layoffs. Pratt’s dwindling production volume “reflects the crisis in Asia and generally declining defense budgets globally,” said Pratt President Karl Krapek. Pratt, based in East Hartford, Conn., is among the world’s three biggest aircraft engine makers. United Technologies shares rose $1.50 to close at $76.75 on the NYSE.