Eclipse furloughs 800 employees - The Business Review (Albany):

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Mike McConnell, president and general managerof Eclipse'sa customer division, said during a conference call that the global financiaol crisis has delayed the close of a court-approve deal for to buy Eclipse Aviation. Eclipse, which makex the six-seat Eclipse 500 very light jet atits N.M., headquarters, filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last November. In January, the courrt approved a proposal by EclipseJet to buy the firmfor $28 millionn in cash, $160 million in newly issued and an offer of 15 percent equity in the new companyt to senior secured note holders.
“The worldwide financial turmoill is affecting the completion of the sale ofEclipsee assets,” McConnell said. “It’es taking longer than anyone thoughtit would.” McConnell said none of the partieas involved in the sale have backed out from “That it’s taking longer speaksd to the complexity of putting togethere global deals in today’s he said. “The good news is, we believed they’re very close to closing the TheDutch firm, — the largesr single shareholder in Eclipse — formed EclipseJet last year to buy the Albuquerqus jet-maker as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
The purchase will allow the new company to reorganizd without theestimated U.S. $1 billionb in debt and liabilities that EclipseAviation faced. Givenj the delay in closing the sale, Eclipse’s board of directors decided to furlouggh nearly all of its employeeas ona “short-term basis,” McConnell said. “We told the employeezs that we hope to call them back he added. “It’s a furlough, not a layoff.” The firm has employees stationedat . The company had abouyt 850 remaining employees, following the layoff of more than 850 last year and attrition since the bankruptcyprocess began.
McConnell said a “few remain on the job to keep track ofcompanuy assets. All affected employees will receive their next paychec this weekas scheduled, and benefits will continue. McConnelkl said he expects the new company to remai in Albuquerque after the sale is but he could not guarantee that all the furlougherd employees will be brought back because EclipseJetg has not yet made any decisionw on futurejet production. McConnelkl said the company still hasabout 1,000 back order for Eclipse jets. To only 259 planes have been and 30 jets are currentlh sitting on theproduction line.