Eclipse sends employees home

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Eclipse Aviation has sent nearly all of its employees home and asked them not to come back until they hear otherwise, the company confirmed early Wednesday afternoon.

Employees received a letter Wednesday telling them to go home. The letter said the workers should get their jobs back later.

During a media conference call Wednesday afternoon, Mike McConnell said the company is holding onto a handful of employees. He also said employees will receive their paychecks for work through this week.

McConnell is the president and general manager of the company's customer division, according to Eclipse's Web site.

He told reporters the company hopes to call the employees back to work soon, and stressed that the employees have not been laid off.

Under bankruptcy protection, the company was sold to its largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based ETIRC Aviation.

The sale has not yet been finalized, and the company was operating under a bridge loan in the interim. The money in the bridge loan ran out.

At midday Wednesday, employees were seen somberly leaving the Eclipse headquarters. They did not want to speak to News 13, fearing they could lose their chance at regaining their jobs.

Employees are eligible for unemployment benefits, and several said they would apply when they returned home.

The company has been struggling after the cost of its flagship Eclipse 500 jet rose, yet the company had to fulfill contracts at prices that had been set before the costs rose.

ETIRC Aviation will pay less than $200 million for the company.

Still, the company owes more than $1 billion, much of it to vendors.

Stay with KRQE.com and tune to News 13 broadcasts throughout the day for further developments.

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