Talks suspended at Hawker Beechcraft

? An official with the machinists union in Wichita says contract negotiations with Hawker Beechcraft have been suspended.

Union spokesman Bob Wood told KAKE-TV that negotiations with the airplane maker were suspended Saturday because of an apparent offer from Louisiana to move Wichita-based Hawker Beechcraft to Baton Rouge, La.

Wood says Gov. Mark Parkinson is scheduled to meet with the union and Hawker Beechcraft in Topeka on Tuesday. Wood said further negotiations will depend on what comes from that meeting.

Parkinson’s spokeswoman, Amy Jordan Wooden, however, said she cannot confirm the meeting. But she said the state has been actively engaged in trying to keep as many jobs in Wichita in possible.

Hawker Beechcraft’s negotiations with the union opened in August, a year before the current contract is set to expire. Hawker Beechcraft did not immediately return a call seeking comment.