More Bad News for Belfast

The British government is learning to beware of Americans bearing jobs. First, John De Lorean's sports-car venture went bankrupt in 1982, taking with it 2,600 Belfast jobs and $156 million in British financing. Now, development of the Lear Fan 2100 turboprop corporate plane has stalled, after burning up as much as $80 million in British aid. More than 90% of the 365 workers at the main Lear plant near Belfast got the news last week that they would be laid off July 1. Reason: the developers are low on cash and more than a year behind schedule in gaining certification for the plane from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Conceived by William Lear, who designed the successful Learjet, the fuel-efficient 2100 is made of so-called composite materials that are lighter than the aluminum in standard aircraft. After Lear's death in 1978, his widow Moya tried to finish the plane, but financial troubles forced her to give up control to a group of investors led by Denver Oilman Bob Burch. He expects an FAA go-ahead by February and hopes to rehire the workers. But Belfast is bedeviled by doubts about whether the Lear Fan will ever be airborne.