CONNECTICUT -- Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney laid off about 350 employees across the country yesterday amid concerns that airlines may delay or cancel orders as the global economy slows, although it is unclear how many of those workers will be from Maine.

The cuts will affect less than 1 percent of the company's work force of more than 38,000 employees and will take effect immediately, Jennifer Whitlow, a spokeswoman said.

About 280 of the layoffs will occur at the company's Connecticut operations. The remaining 70 will affect employees in 12 other states including Maine and Texas. Those cuts will affect salaried positions including administrative assistants, engineers and accountants, Whitlow said.

Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., supplies both military and commercial jet engines for products such as Boeing Co.'s 747 and 777, as well as the Airbus A300, among many others. It also builds engines for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 fighter jet and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.