Embraer will remove an entire layer of its management structure as part of a plan to lay off 20 percent of its 21,362-strong workforce, the company announced last Thursday, February 19. In a prepared statement, Embraer said it would concentrate the cuts in production and administration areas, while it keeps the “significant majority” of the engineering workforce to continue new product development and technology. The cuts will affect every location except OGMA in Portugal and the Harbin-Embraer joint venture in China. Embraer issued revenue guidance for the year of $5.5 billion, which corresponds with delivery of 242 commercial and business aircraft, compared with its earlier estimate of 270. It also lowered its projections for this year’s R&D investment, to $350 million from $450 million. A spokesman attributed the decision to “the unprecedented crisis affecting the global economy.”