Cirrus Design Corp., ramping down to zero production in December, furloughed 500 of the 1,100 workers at its Duluth, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D. facilities .

But the aircraft manufacturer's Nov. 25 bad-news announcement ended on a more positive note: The layoffs are short-term and all employees are to return to work Jan. 5.

The company's normal production average of 12 aircraft per week during December, says Cirrus Vice President, Business Administration William T. King. The rolling furloughs target Cirrus's core production team members--about two-thirds of them are from at the Duluth plant, one-third from Grand Forks.

Cirrus will continue to pay medical and other benefits to the affected employees. It is also working to find state government programs that might supplement traditional compensation benefits. No other Cirrus departments are involved in the layoffs.

Cirrus is optimistic about the future, although President and COO Brent Wouters admits the company has had "to make difficult tactical decisions to match our overall production to the realities of the current marketplace."

It is making "good progress on rationalizing inventory levels and retooling the production line" to allow for greater product flexibility, notes Wouters. In addition, Cirrus expects to have sufficient inventory to fill the "robust" sales expected in December and production levels to reach closer to normal levels in January.

The optimism is based on several factors, says CEO Alan Klapmeier, including the company's continued innovation in piston aircraft line and flexible lean-manufacturing capabilities.

SR22 photo: Cirrus Design Corp.