Nahariya blade factory to shut, about 450 workers to lose jobs

Pratt & Whitney, the American aerospace giant that controls the company, announced on Monday that the shutdown had been completed and began handing dismissal letters to remaining employees. The move ends a struggle that has lasted nearly four years, since the first announcement that operations would be halted. The company said in December 2022 that it planned to close the site because of financial losses and falling global demand for jet-engine blades, and at the time expected the process to be completed during 2025, although the plant continued operating past that deadline.

Blade Technology was founded in 1968 by industrialist Stef Wertheimer, shortly after the Six-Day War, to manufacture jet-engine parts in Israel after the French arms embargo blocked purchases abroad. Over time, the site became a major industrial center in the north and employed generations of workers from the western Galilee. Pratt & Whitney later became a partner in the venture and bought Wertheimer’s stake in 2014.

Although the original rationale was economic, the broader environment changed. The war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East increased demand for spare parts for fighter jets and military aviation systems, allowing the plant to keep operating longer than planned. Still, the company has now decided to complete the closure.

The Manufacturers Association says the falling dollar, higher input costs and rising production expenses in Israel accelerated the shutdown and made it harder to maintain local operations. The closure is a serious blow to employment in Nahariya and the western Galilee, which have already faced about three years of security strain from fighting on the northern border. The impact is expected to extend beyond Nahariya, since many of the workers come from nearby Druze communities as well.