Pratt & Whitney announced hundreds of employees state-wide were being laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pratt & Whitney said 450 salaried employees, across all departments, were impacted.
Dr. Keith Prioleau, of Southington, was among those employees. When he learned he had a meeting Tuesday morning, Dr. Prioleau told News 8, “I thought to myself it couldn’t be part of the layoff.”
Dr. Prioleau later found out his position was being eliminated immediately.
In a statement, released earlier this week, Pratt & Whitney said they continue to experience reduced commercial business. Pratt & Whitney continued by saying this was an extremely difficult, but necessary, decision.
Dr. Prioleau told News 8 he’s a longtime employee, who’s been working within the legal department — specifically, government security services. He said their role was to protect and secure information.
Dr. Prioleau is now hoping he’ll find a new spot within Pratt & Whitney’s parent company, Raytheon Technologies, and stay in Connecticut where his daughter is.
“There are a lot of jobs, a lot of jobs when you look at their internal and external postings [that] I qualify for,” said Dr. Prioleau. “If they’re looking for a highly-educated employee who’s been with Raytheon for 19 years, I’m your guy!”
News 8 reached Pratt & Whitney on Thursday for further information. They said they’re going to make sure these impacted employees know about those other opportunities.