Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Just weeks after warning that pending job cuts “could very well touch all areas and levels of the company,” Hawker Beechcraft CEO Jim Schuster today put a number to how many of his 9,300 employees will be let go–about 2,300, or nearly 25 percent of the company’s workforce. Most of the affected employees will be given their 60-day notices on Friday, just 91 days since 490 people were let go by Hawker Beechcraft. “In the short time since my last communication, we have experienced increased erosion across our industry and the global economy,” he wrote to employees today. “In addition to declining orders and deliveries, we are facing a host of new challenges,” including a continued tough credit market, slowed orders from high-volume customers such as fractional providers, and media and political criticism of business jets. “The increased challenges that lay before us demand an extraordinary response from our company and the U.S. aviation industry to ensure our short-term stability and long-term success,” Schuster added. “This is an extremely painful step for the HBC family and community, but one that is absolutely necessary. While I wish I could commit to you that this will be our final action, I cannot do so at this time given the extreme volatility in the marketplace.”

Hawker Beechcraft Plans To Lay Off 2,300 More

Just weeks after warning that pending job cuts “could very well touch all areas and levels of the company,” Hawker Beechcraft CEO Jim Schuster today put a 

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