Hawker Beechcraft Inc., which plans to exit bankruptcy protection under the control of a group of hedge funds that includes Bain Capital's Sankaty Advisors, is jettisoning two underfunded pension plans covering thousands of nonunion workers and retirees, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Kansas-based aircraft manufacturer, which hopes to exit bankruptcy protection in the first quarter of next year, also said that it struck a deal with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) to retain a third "hourly" plan covering more than 8,200 current and former union workers. In court papers filed on Feb. 21, Hawker said that it was terminating its so-called salaried and base pension plans covering nearly 9,500 employees and retirees as part of a comprehensive deal with the PBGC and the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, the union representing its hourly workers.
