Work to be shifted from South Carolina, Georgia operations

Columbus Dispatch
June 3, 2010

NetJets Inc. will bring up to 70 jobs to Columbus by October, as it shifts work from a southeastern U.S. operation to its headquarters on the Northeast Side.

The world leader in private jet operations, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is consolidating the operations of NJI Inc. locally. The unit, formerly named NetJets International, oversees the company's largest jets such as Gulfstream models that are capable of transcontinental flights.

There are about 95 employees of NJI in South Carolina and Georgia. Of those, about 25 will remain in their current locations along with an unspecified number of mechanics. About 70 are being offered relocation to Columbus.

David Sokol, who was appointed chairman and CEO of NetJets by Buffett last summer, said in a statement that the consolidation "will further unite and strengthen our North American operations." It's one of several major changes, including the relocation of NetJets official corporate headquarters to Columbus from New Jersey, that Sokol has instituted in the last few months.

The job additions will reduce but not replace the number lost in NetJets layoffs last fall. Faced with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, the company laid off 350 office workers -- most of them in Columbus -- and furloughed 495 pilots late last year. The company has returned to profitability this year.