Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney has cut at least 10 percent of its work force in Columbus. It laid off 55 employees after offering voluntary buyouts to an undetermined number of staffers. The downsizing comes with business tailing off sharply at the Columbus Engine Center on Macon Road. The shop overhauls and repairs 4,000-pound jet engines shipped from airlines around the world. Before the involuntary layoffs, 575 people were on the combined payrolls at the engine center and another Columbus division that forges blades used in passenger and cargo airplanes.