Textron to cut 1,500 jobs as program cancellations, weak demand hit results

(Reuters) - Textron is expanding its restructuring plan to include about 1,500 job cuts, it said on Thursday, after U.S. Army program cancellations and lower demand for some other products hit its business.

Shares of the Rhode Island-based company fell 10% in premarket as it also reported lower than expected adjusted profit and revenue for the first quarter.

During the quarter, the U.S. Army ended the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft scout helicopter and Shadow unmanned aircraft programs, developed at the Textron Systems and Bell divisions, the company said in a filing.

Textron's industrial segment, which reported a 4.29% decline in quarterly revenue, also saw lower consumer demand for some products at the Specialized Vehicles business and reduced demand for fuel systems from European automotive manufacturers.

Textron said it plans to reduce its headcount by some 1,500 positions, or around 4% of its global workforce, under the expanded restructuring plan. The original plan did not mention job cuts.

Since Textron introduced the 2023 restructuring plan, it has incurred $140 million in pre-tax special charges. It expects to sustain further severance costs of between $25 million and $30 million in the second quarter of 2024.

Textron's first-quarter sales were $3.13 billion, missing Wall Street estimates of $3.28 billion, according to LSEG data.

Quarterly adjusted profit was $1.20 per share, short of expectations of $1.23 per share.

(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta, Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Milla Nissi)