CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — One of eastern Iowa’s largest employers has revealed it plans to lay off 72 workers at its Cedar Rapids plant.

The company, which manufactures aviation and military equipment, had announced on July 30 that it would lay off workers, but declined to say how many. It revealed the number in a recent notice to Iowa Workforce Development.

The cuts come amid declining sales numbers during the global coronavirus outbreak.

The company already has implemented voluntary separation agreements, furloughs, pay cuts, a hiring freeze and a cancellation of any merit pay increases, Collins Aerospace President Stephen Timm said in an email.

The cuts primarily affect Collins Aerospace’s commercial business functions, Timm said.

“As difficult as this decision is, resizing our workforce is necessary for Collins to better align with future business demand in this evolving environment and to position the company for long-term success,” he said.

Collins Aerospace will give laid off employees one week of severance pay for each year served at the company.