NC jet startup reportedly cuts 55 jobs

KINSTON – A fast-growing charter jet company is cutting jobs in North Carolina.

The Kinston-based private jet company flyExclusive has laid off workers, a former employee of the company confirmed to WRAL. And Neuse News reported on Friday that the layoffs could affect as many as 55 workers and were “effective immediately.”

Take off: Private jet company flyExclusive to go public in $600M deal

What’s happening

The Kinston-headquartered company announced it would open an engineering hub in Durham in 2021. Then, this year, the company announced an expansion in the eastern part of the state. Soon after, flyExclusive said it planned to complete a business combination and become a publicly-traded company.

The deal announced in October valued the company at $600 million. At the time, the company said it employed about 750 workers, but planned to add an additional 200 once the expansion in North Carolina was completed.

Jim Segrave, CEO of flyExclusive, said in a statement in October that the capital raised from the business combination would “allow flyExclusive to rapidly grow our workforce, significantly expand our fleet and further invest in our customer experience, while maintaining our core values and family first culture.”

Now, the company has cut jobs—roughly 14% of its workforce. Still, the company website notes that it is hiring for 13 roles, as of Sunday afternoon.

Layoffs, plant closures in NC hit lowest levels in 25 years despite slowing economy

Should NC workers worry about layoffs?

WRAL TechWire has not confirmed whether the company has filed a notice with the State of North Carolina under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which requires qualified employers to provide notice to workers and state officials for qualifying mass layoff or plant closures.

An analysis of notices filed under the WARN Act with the State of North Carolina found that as of last week, the state was on track for at least a 25-year low in terms of the total number of mass layoffs and/or plant closures as well as on track for the fewest total number of affected North Carolina workers.

But not all layoff decisions made by companies require notice under the WARN Act.

This is a developing story and may be updated.