Aquiline Drones lays off almost half its employees

Aquiline Drones, a drone manufacturer in Hartford, CT, has laid off almost half of its employees. The company points to pandemic-related travel restrictions and difficulty in acquiring materials as the main causes for the layoffs.

Aquiline Drones lays off almost half its employees

According to Barry Alexander, chief executive of the drone manufacturer, 33 people were let off on Thursday — 13 in production and 20 in customer support and sales — leaving the business with 42 full-time workers, reports the Hartford Courant.

“Our country is currently in a manufacturing crisis,” Alexander said, in an email. “As I write, there is a record-breaking number of delayed cargo ships not able to bring supplies and goods into their respective ports, which has affected to American manufacturing supply chain across the board, Aquiline Drones included.

In a statement, the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, the state's largest business lobbying group, stated that the disruption in the supply and delivery of parts and materials is particularly acute in shipments coming from Countries other than the United States, particularly China, other countries in Asia, and Europe.

Aquiline Drones started manufacturing drones in downtown Hartford earlier this year and aimed to become one of the Blue sUAS drone makers in the United States. It seems that with the large number of people laid off those plans will have been put on the backburner.

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Photo credit: Kenneth R. Gosselin / Hartford Courant