Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney laid off around 400 staff at five of its six facilities in Singapore  downturn in the aviation industry, caused by the pandemic.

The company employs about 2,000 workers here with an average employment tenure of 14 years. The layoff will will result the Singapore team to leave with 77 percent of its workforce.

Pratt & Whitney, which has been operating here for around 37 years, has been working with the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on cost-saving measures to protect jobs since April.

The SISEU added that it was notified early last month of the upcoming retrenchments at the Pratt & Whitney facilities it represents - Turbine Overhaul Services, Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions, P&W NGPF Manufacturing Company Singapore and Component Aerospace Singapore.

Both parties said they will ensure affected employees are accorded fair treatment and compensation packages.

The union's immediate priority is to work with Pratt & Whitney to give affected employees the necessary assistance, including upgrading their skills. It will work with the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute to arrange for workers to attend job fairs and workshops.

Besides the retrenchment packages, SISEU has asked Pratt & Whitney to offer laid-off staff a one-off training grant to update their skills.

Affected employees who are union members will also receive paid NTUC membership until the end of the year so they can continue to enjoy benefits, including bursary awards, financial relief under NTUC care and support programmes, insurance coverage, personal development and training assistance.

It has been forecast that it could take until 2023 at the earliest for commercial aviation traffic to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels.