A big win for local copter industry, jobs

Score one for the region's helicopter industry.

Sikorksy is reversing course, announcing Wednesday that they would not be closing their plant in Sadsbury, outside Coatesville, out in Chester County.

The move comes after President Trump intervened - and saves 465 jobs, at least for now.

There is no indication how long the plant, which manufactures the Marine One helicopters that transport the president, will remain open, but it seems the jobs are secure at least for a year.

Marillyn Hewson, chairman of Lockheed Martin Corp., parent company of Sikorsky, said the decision comes after she was asked by President Trump to take another look at the situation.

"At the request of President Trump, I took another look at our decision to close the Coatesville, Pa., facility and have decided to keep it open while we pursue additional work," Hewson said in a statement.

President Trump hailed the news in his usual fashion - on Twitter.

"I was just informed by Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin, of her decision to keep the Sikorsky Helicopter Plant in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, open and humming! We are very proud of Pennsylvania and the people who work there," Trump Tweeted. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6 of Chester County, and other elected officials had set up a task force in attempts to save the jobs.

The fate of lots of jobs at the Boeing plant in Ridley remain up in the air.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, has been leading the charge against a push by the Army to delay a huge upgrade program for the Chinook fleet, a program that supports hundreds of jobs at the Ridley facility.

Scanlon got support from a House committee, which ordered the program restored, but is still battling with the Army over the future of the Chinook upgrade.

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