The president of jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney said Friday that Connecticut needs to revamp its regulations and tax system to be more competitive and attract business.

David Hess, who leads the East Hartford-based subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., also defended the decision to close two engine repair plants in Connecticut, which will be completed this year, and move jobs out of state.

"An attitude change is the first step," he told more than 300 business owners, managers and representatives at a meeting of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association in Hartford. "We have to move from a sometimes adversarial relationship to a more supportive one."

Pratt & Whitney is responding to growing markets in China, India and Brazil that also provide high-quality, low-cost materials, he said. For example, Boeing is assembling some of its new 787 airlines in South Carolina and Airbus assembles some A320s in China, Hess said. If Airbus wins an Air Force tanker competition it will assemble those aircraft in Alabama, he said.

Lower-cost assembly by customers puts pressure on Pratt & Whitney to follow, he said. The company maintains facilities of about 12.5 million square feet with about 45 percent of that in Connecticut.

"So it means that we take action or lose the business altogether," he said.

Closing engine repair shops in Cheshire and East Hartford were difficult decisions, "but it was no longer viable in the current 21st century business environment to do that kind of very labor-intensive work in Connecticut," Hess said.

The future of well-paid manufacturing jobs in the state has been a source of political arguments for years. Last March, Chief Financial Officer Greg Hayes told investor analysts that "any place outside of Connecticut is low cost," sparking debate between the then-Republican governor and Democratic-led Legislature over how to preserve jobs.

Pratt & Whitney has said since 2009 when it announced it would shut the plants that it was responding to global competition. But Hess' appearance at the business group and at a news conference later were his first public ventures laying out the company's challenges.

The Machinists union, which represents about 3,500 workers at Pratt & Whitney, beat the company in federal court twice last year, forcing the company to halt its plans to shut the repair plants. The company and union agreed in December to shut the plants while providing retirement incentives and transfers to ease the job cuts.

Many elected officials criticized the company and then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal joined the Machinists union's lawsuit.

"We viewed it as another indication of the lack of support of businesses having to make tough decisions to do the right thing for the business, which ultimately provide prosperity for Connecticut," Hess said at a news conference.

A spokeswoman for Blumenthal, now a U.S. senator, did not respond to a request seeking comment.

Hess also said Connecticut's tax structure has to be stable and predictable.

"Debating major tax changes every year creates uncertainty and that kills investment," he said.

China, Poland, Singapore and Turkey have made long-term commitments to economic growth and "stick by the promises they make," Hess said.

As a result Pratt & Whitney employs about 8,000 workers in overhaul and engine repair and manufacturing operations in those four counties, he said.

Separately, Hess said pressure on military spending may slow demand for Pratt & Whitney's engine for the joint strike fighter, but it will still be "a growth program for Pratt and a growth generator for the company for decades to come."

The Pentagon said Thursday it will seek $78 billion in spending cuts and another $100 billion in other cost savings.