Allison Lampert

(Reuters) - RTX and union representatives about 3,000 strikers of the U.S. Pratt & Whitney workers resumed talks Thursday as the company and union continued in the third week, the company and union said on Monday.

The International Association of Mechanics and Aerospace Workers said workers are on strike to increase job security and higher salaries.

The first strike at Enginemaker’s Connecticut site in more than 20 years was due to the aerospace supply chain already working to meet global demand for new passenger aircraft while facing uncertainty on our tariffs on imported aircraft parts.

Pratt produced 70% of the company's geared turbocharged engine in Connecticut, and the strike affected two locations. GTF is used in the powerful sales of the A320 NEO family of Planemaker Airbus in Europe, as well as the engines of the F-35 fighter.

Pratt has used engineers as part of his contingency plan, two sources told Reuters.

One of the sources said Pratt is purchasing engineers who can operate machinery as part of the plan. A second source said he knew engineers who had reassigned the factory had put some engineering projects on hold.

Both sources discussed Pratt’s internal labor strategies under anonymity. RTX and IAM reject comments that engineers use.

A letter from Pratt to workers, seen by Reuters, asked employees to complete a skill assessment by Friday. It calls for workers with specialized manufacturing skills, as well as general factory and business process support.

“We rely on the talent of our entire staff to meet our customer commitments,” it said.

It is unclear how fast Pratt can keep all production movements or move at when using engineers instead of factory workers. An Airbus spokesman said the company continued to monitor the situation and contacted RTX.

Pratt and customers are still struggling to cope with the manufacturing defect found in 2023 that has been rooted in hundreds of aircraft, while mechanics conducted months of inspections. According to Barclays, while some Jetblue said they were seeing improvements in Pratt in recent months, about one-third of aircraft with GTF engines had been discontinued as of May 9.

Analysts warn that a lengthy strike will result in further response.

(Reported by Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editors of Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis)