Bell Helicopter cuts another 315 jobs, mostly in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH – Bell Helicopter is trimming 315 more jobs, most of them in Fort Worth, as it continues to adjust to reduced production of the V-22 Osprey.

The Fort Worth-based company said that the reduction in force would affect both management and non-management, including some union members.

The company has also suspended all external hiring.

Bell is producing about 50 percent less V-22 aircraft than a year ago as the military winds down its purchases of the tiltrotor, which is assembled in Amarillo with parts produced in Fort Worth. It is the company’s largest program.

V-22 deliveries are expected to decline to 21 this year from 37 last year. Through the end of 2014, the company had delivered 293 V-22s to the military, with production peaking in 2013 at 41.

Because the V-22’s biggest systems, such as the drive and rotor blades, are made in the Fort Worth area, the slowdown in production has affected employment more in Fort Worth than in Amarillo, Bell spokeswoman Susan Gordon said.

The company, which announced a series of layoffs last year, including 320 in October, said that after this reduction, it would have about 4,750 employees in the Fort Worth area.