ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603180099
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE RED BARON made its airplanes a legend. Now it's bailing out of the airplane business.
Dutch airplane maker Fokker NV announced Friday that it would stop making aircraft and put thousands out of work after government loans ran out and investors failed to step forward.
The company that gave the World War I Red Baron his wings filed for bankruptcy for its three main divisions. All 5,664 of the divisions' workers will lose their jobs, but 950 will be offered jobs with what's left of Fokker.
``Until the last minute, and by that I mean early this morning, we have been working to keep Fokker going. We have not succeeded,'' Fokker Chairman Ben Van Schaik said Friday.
Fokker aircraft regularly serve Roanoke Regional Airport but the company's demise should have no impact on the airport's operations, said Mark Courtney, spokesman for the airport commission.
USAir operates five flights at Roanoke Regional Airport using Fokker F28s, a 68-passenger jet aircraft.
Under the plan Fokker filed Friday, its businesses with the best chance to make money will be bundled under a new company, Fokker Aviation BV. The new company no longer will make aircraft, but will encompass its aircraft support business, space and systems division and other units.
Fokker will retain 350 workers for three months to complete building 70 final planes.
The company filed bankruptcy papers for its Fokker Aircraft, Fokker Administration and Royal Dutch Aircraft Manufacturer Fokker units.
The company has been fighting for survival since January when majority shareholder, German industrial giant Daimler-Benz, refused to provide any more money to service debts. Since then, potential investors from the aerospace industry have considered bailing out Fokker, but none made a commitment.
The government has in recent years pumped millions of dollars into the aircraft maker, which suffered a record $394.5 million loss in the first half of last year.
The company, founded by a Dutch engineer, started manufacturing planes in Germany in 1912. In 1922 Oakley Kelly and John McReady flew an 11-seat Fokker F4 non-stop coast-to-coast across the United States, the first time the feat had been achieved.
Amelia Earhart flew a Fokker plane in 1928 when she became the first woman to fly over the Atlantic.
In recent years, the Fokker F-100 has become a popular jet for shorter-range commercial flights, but stiff price competition in the aircraft business undercut the company's profitability.
The new company, Fokker Aviation, will employ about 2,500. Fokker said it would seek an alliance with other industrial partners but did not provide details.
The bankruptcy threatens 1,500 jobs at Shorts Brothers PLC in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where wings are made for Fokker jets. Shorts President Roy McNulty said he hoped 500 staff working on the Fokker contract would be moved to other work in the factory that employs 7,500.
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP A worker covers the sign at company headquarters.by CNB