Rolls-Royce is closing its commercial aircraft engine components plant in Crosspointe, Virginia, saying the severe economic fallout from Covid-19 made the move unavoidable. The company informed employees on Friday that it would phase out operations by mid-2021. Plans call to wind down the site according to workload and in-process production schedules. The move will affect 280 employees.

Opened in 2011, the Crosspointe site produces components for the Trent 1000, Pearl 15, and Pearl 700. In addition, the Crosspoint location includes facilities to manufacture rotative discs and turbine blades.

“Due to the significant reduction in demand for our civil products and services, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we no longer have the workload necessary to sustain operations at the site,” the company said.

Rolls-Royce had previously laid off 120 workers at Crosspointe in June as a result of the pandemic. “We were hopeful that those reductions would be sufficient but, since that time, it's become clear that the economic downturn from the pandemic will depress orders for years to come,” the company said. “We simply don't have enough workload to sustain the facility.”