Spirit layoffs could stress Wichita, Sedgwick County finances, Moody’s cautions

One of the world’s top credit rating agencies has issued a report expressing concern about potential stress on Wichita-area governments if Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner doesn’t get back in the sky sooner rather than later.

The Moody’s investment firm report identifies the 2,800 recently announced layoffs at Spirit AeroSystems as a potential catalyst that could cause future financial issues for local government.

“The (Spirit) layoffs are credit negative for the city of Wichita, Sedgwick County and surrounding communities because the workforce reduction threatens to result in weaker retail sales, lowering sales tax revenues that support local government budgets,” the report said. “The reduced work orders and layoffs at Spirit are likely to ripple out to smaller aerospace suppliers in the Wichita area, increasing layoffs in the region.”