Jet-engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, whose approximately 3,000 Connecticut-based machinists went on strike in May, saw profits decline but revenues increase in the past quarter, according to its new earnings report.
In the second quarter of 2025, Pratt’s operating profit decreased 9% year over year to $492 million, according to the earnings report released Tuesday by parent company RTX. The three-week strike by the machinists was noted in the report, but it also listed several other factors that affected Pratt’s bottom line, including higher tariffs and an approximately $100 million charge related to an undisclosed airline customer’s bankruptcy.
Despite the strike, Pratt’s sales still rose 12% year over year, to about $7.6 billion. The growth reflected upticks in commercial original-equipment production and the commercial aftermarket for parts to repair and enhance engines.
The overall sales of Arlington, Virginia-headquartered RTX increased 9% year-over-year to about $21.6 billion. Its quarterly profit of about $1.7 billion compared with a bottom line of $111 million a year ago. Second-quarter 2024 profits were weighed down by a total of about $1.8 billion in charges and accounting adjustments.
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“We delivered very solid results in the second quarter, as we continued to execute in a dynamic operating environment,” RTX CEO and Chairman Christopher Calio said during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday morning.
The machinists’ strike at Pratt’s two plants in Connecticut — in East Hartford and Middletown — lasted from May 5-27. It marked their first work stoppage since 2001.
Officials at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union that represents the machinists, alleged that Pratt deployed some salaried employees to try to do the machinists’ work but that the company was still unable to assemble and test engines in East Hartford and Middletown during the strike.
In response, company officials disclosed few details about their contingency plans. But they acknowledged that the strike affected work on F135 and GTF engines, which, respectively, power F-35 fighter jets and commercial aircraft such as the Airbus A320neo group.
“There was an impact … on our ability to ship all the GTF and F135 that was in our plans,” Calio said on May 28 at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. “That’s something we’re going to have to recover throughout the balance of the year. There will be a cash impact here in the second quarter as a result. I think break-even to negative cash flow in the quarter, but again, recoverable in the year. We’re going to continue to get our people back, ramped up, get our engines back out the door.”
The strike ended when the machinists approved a new four-year contract on May 27. The agreement includes wage increases and greater company contributions to pensions and 401(k) plans.
Also included in the new pact are commitments to continuing operations in East Hartford and Middletown through 2029. Among the protections are ones for the ongoing production in East Hartford of turbine airfoils, a vital part for engines’ cooling and thrust. The machinists had pushed for those guarantees, especially since Pratt is expanding its turbine facility in Asheville, North Carolina.
“Our committee worked tirelessly to ensure our members’ priorities were heard, and this agreement is a direct result of that determination,” Jeff Santini, directing business representative for the IAM district that represents Connecticut members and one of the union's contract negotiators, said in a written statement after the machinists approved the new contract. “We are proud of what was achieved at the table and even prouder of the solidarity shown by our membership throughout this process.”
IAM did make some concessions. For instance, union leaders had called for all members to be eligible for pensions. But new machinists will continue to participate only in 401(k) plans.
Among other recent developments in Connecticut, Pratt furloughed an undisclosed number of employees at the Middletown plant from July 5-9.
“Because of the holiday, this is a period that typically sees slower production activity, so we are using this time to conduct necessary facility maintenance and align operations with material availability,” Pratt officials said in a written statement.
Pratt is one of the largest employers in Connecticut, with about 11,000 employees across the facilities in East Hartford and Middletown. Parent company RTX’s presence in Connecticut also includes about 4,500 employees who work at the Cheshire and Windsor Locks facilities of its Collins Aerospace business, which produces a number of non-engine parts.