United Technologies’s aerospace units are about to get a lot bigger. The Farmington-based conglomerate has announced it will buy Rockwell Collins in a $30 billion dollar deal -- its biggest ever.
Rockwell Collins makes a big variety of parts for commercial and military jets including brake systems, cockpit controls, wing flaps, and lighting. UTC will combine those functions with its United Technologies Aerospace Systems unit in a new business to be called Collins Aerospace Systems.
The current CEO of Rockwell Collins will head up the new company.
LEGO Cuts
LEGO is about to make big workforce cuts. The Danish toymaker said declining sales will force it to cut 1,400 jobs -- about eight percent of its global workforce.
LEGO has its North American headquarters in Enfield.
It’s not yet clear where job cuts will come, but the company said it needs to simplify its business model to reduce costs, after a five percent drop in revenue.
Budget Shortfall
All the governor’s cuts under executive order aren’t helping the state’s bottom line so far. A new projection shows Connecticut ending this fiscal year with a deficit.
State Comptroller Kevin Lembo warned of the shortfall in his monthly letter to the governor’s office. Rising fixed costs are driving up state spending by about 10 percent so far this year, and Lembo sees little sign the economy is growing to keep pace.
He said the continuing budget impasse is having a devastating impact on state finances.