In a sign of the ripple affect caused by the boulder-into-the-pond that is COVID-19, Raytheon Technologies Inc announced plans to eliminate 15,000 roles across its corporate offices, jet engine-maker Pratt & Whitney, and aviation and military equipment manufacturer Collins Aerospace. These cuts are driven almost exclusively to the downturn in air travel, which has decreased the need for new jets and related equipment from suppliers like Raytheon. The three biggest carriers collectively are expected to lay off about 40,000 workers.

In July, the company announced upcoming cuts, but that number was nearly half the number announced yesterday.

According to Bloomberg, this is part of an effort to reduce $2 billion in costs this year and save $4 billion in cash

The Associated Press reported that during a Morgan Stanley analysts web conference, Raytheon executive officer Greg Hayes said the cuts amount to administrative cost reductions of about 20 percent at Pratt & Whitney, based in East Hartford, and about 12 percent at Collins Aerospace, based in Charlotte, NC.

"Those headcount reductions are nearly doubled the previous estimate of around 8,500 that we gave you back in July and we're not done yet looking for further ways to reduce structural costs in all of our businesses," said Hayes.

In other words: the rock is still dropping.

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