“Unfortunately, the global market for aircraft has prompted a consolidation of facilities. Their decision makes smart business sense for them. We’re glad there was no job loss and that Sikorsky will continue to pay taxes on the property it owns in Bridgeport. This also presents a unique opportunity for further growth in our Eco-Technology Park.” – Mayor Bill Finch

Bridgeport, Conn (June 2, 2015) – Today, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced it will move  its Bridgeport operations at 1210 South Ave. to its facility in Stratford. There will be no loss of jobs for the workers currently at the Bridgeport plant. The employees will be shifted to the Stratford facility as part of the company’s consolidation.

“Unfortunately, the global market for aircraft has prompted a consolidation of facilities,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “Their decision makes smart business sense for them. We’re glad there was no job loss and that Sikorsky will continue to pay taxes on the property it owns in Bridgeport. This also presents a unique opportunity for further growth in our Eco-Technology Park.”

“The decision by Sikorsky to close its Bridgeport South End plant, a location that has been a part of their manufacturing  plant inventory for many years, and recently employed hundreds of workers, does not come as a surprise,” Timpanelli added.  “Sikorsky, a long-time quality employer in our region and specifically in Bridgeport, is in the process of consolidating manufacturing functions around the world to better position the company to compete in an ever-changing global marketplace. Part of that consolidation strategy is to make the company more efficient, lean and productive. These Bridgeport-based jobs will be, for the most part, transferred to the Stratford location, and, therefore not lost to our region. Sikorsky, we are confident, will continue to be a major regional employer and positive regional economic force.

“The good news here is that the South End Sikorsky plant will provide Bridgeport with much needed inventory of clean, usable manufacturing space located within Bridgeport’s increasingly desirable Eco-Technology Park,” said Timpanelli. “Because of what we have been able to achieve in partnership with the city over the last few years, the South End Sikorsky plant will now be perfectly positioned for reuse, it will be near new sources of renewable, clean energy that will critically reduce power costs, and it will be in a renewed neighborhood with many new companies and added tax incentives that come with the formalization of the “Eco-Park”.

Bridgeport’s economy also is growing with major economic development projects downtown and at Steelpointe, creating hundreds of new jobs and adding millions of dollars to the tax rolls. Steelpointe Harbor is a 52-acre peninsula off of the Long Island Sound. Construction is underway there for a new Bass Pro Shop and a Starbucks and Chipotle restaurant. And that’s just the beginning.  Once complete, Steelpointe Harbor will serve as a 2 million square foot super regional waterfront, featuring more than 750,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, a 12-screen premium theater, two hotels, 1,100 mid-and-high rise residential units, 30,000 square feet of office and a 200-slip full service deep water marina.

(City of Bridgeport press release)