GE to furlough 50% of U.S. engine assembly, component manufacturing ops staff

(Reuters) - General Electric Co <GE.N> said on Thursday it would furlough about half its workers in the U.S. engine assembly and component manufacturing operations, a move that would affect thousands of employees, as the coronavirus pandemic hurts travel demand.

The furloughs will be in addition to the about 2,600 U.S. job cuts announced last month by GE's aviation unit, which makes engines for Boeing Co <BA.N> and Airbus SE <AIR.PA> aircraft. (https://reut.rs/2xNGcub)

"Due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the commercial aviation industry, GE aviation is implementing a temporary reduction...for up to four weeks," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

The unit employed about 52,000 people globally as of 2019.

GE's shares fell as much as 3.1% in afternoon trading.

(This story has been refiled to fix typo in the headline)

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)