Union alleges U.S. aerospace firm laid off workers based on age
by Roxana Hegeman, The Associated Press
Claims Spirit AeroSystems laid off workers last year because they were a burden on health insurance costs
WICHITA, Kan.—An engineering union is accusing Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., of laying off hundreds of workers last year because they were too old and a burden on health insurance costs.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace made the allegations in discrimination complaints filed this week with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by 10 ex-employees.
They claim they were laid off after Spirit became a self-insured company.
The ex-workers also want the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States to investigate whether the Wichita aerospace company unlawfully obtained their confidential medical information.
Spirit AeroSystems says in a statement that the allegations are distorted and inaccurate.
It says it needed to reduce costs and that personal medical information wasn’t used to make layoff decisions.
