Post by andypspotter on Nov 13, 2019 21:28:30 GMT
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Kerrville, Texas-based Mooney Aircraft has reportedly shut down and released its entire staff, the Kerrville Daily Times is reporting. The Times reported and we can confirm that Mooney’s voicemail system states that “At this time, all Mooney employees have been furloughed and therefore we cannot take your call.” We have been unable to reach any of Mooney’s staff or management, and we understand that the firm’s workforce was down to just 50 preceding the closure.
To those watching Mooney’s sales numbers over the first half of this year, the shutdown is probably not a huge surprise. According to GAMA sales records, Mooney sold two Acclaim Ultras in each of the first two quarters, after selling 14 aircraft at a value of $10.7 million in 2018. For context, Cirrus sold 203 aircraft in the first half of 2019, while Mooney’s output trailed Extra, Pipistrel and Quest’s.
At AirVenture 2018, Mooney said that it intended to build 20 aircraft that year but would ramp up toward 40 in 2019 and maintain 50 aircraft a year starting in 2020. Mooney’s workers were in 2017, four years after restarting production under new owners Soaring America Aircraft. Mooney had not been producing new aircraft for nearly five years before that. The last Acclaim Ultras to roll out the door were valued at nearly $850,000 each.
To those watching Mooney’s sales numbers over the first half of this year, the shutdown is probably not a huge surprise. According to GAMA sales records, Mooney sold two Acclaim Ultras in each of the first two quarters, after selling 14 aircraft at a value of $10.7 million in 2018. For context, Cirrus sold 203 aircraft in the first half of 2019, while Mooney’s output trailed Extra, Pipistrel and Quest’s.
At AirVenture 2018, Mooney said that it intended to build 20 aircraft that year but would ramp up toward 40 in 2019 and maintain 50 aircraft a year starting in 2020. Mooney’s workers were in 2017, four years after restarting production under new owners Soaring America Aircraft. Mooney had not been producing new aircraft for nearly five years before that. The last Acclaim Ultras to roll out the door were valued at nearly $850,000 each.