Lockheed Plans Further Job Cuts Due To VH-71 Ending

June 17, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Congress, Countries, Department of Defense, Events, Federal Budget Process, Finemeccanica, Italy, Lockheed Martin, Military Aviation, New York, Restructuring, Services, States, Suspensions, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, development program, production program 

Lockheed Martin had already cut over one hundred jobs at their Upstate New York facility in Owego. This was mainly due to the decision by Obama and Secretary of Defense Gates to end the VH-71 New Presidential Transport helicopter program. Even though the aircraft was made in Italy Lockheed did all the modifications and integration in Owego.

Despite a great deal of argument and pressure to keep the program going in some form or another the contract was recently terminated. Lockheed is now saying that another seven hundred and fifty people may lose their jobs. Right now they are looking for people to voluntarily leave or retire with a promise of severance. The plan is to begin the layoffs in July based on how many people agree to leave voluntarily.

One of the arguments against ending this and other production programs is that they will just add to the joblessness during the current recession. Of course the defense budget is not really a jobs program and that is fairly poor reasoning to continue spending billions of dollars on a system that does not meet requirements. It is still possible that Congress will pass some form of spending that will keep pieces of the program alive in the 2010 defense budget but that will not be finished until the Fall.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Congressman Murtha Makes Inefficient Recommendation for KC-X

January 30, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Alabama, Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Congress, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, EADS, Events, Federal Budget Process, GAO, Military Aviation, Northrop Grumman Corp., Protest, Restructuring, Services, Suspensions, U.S. Air Force, Washington, commercial aviation, development program, logistics, production program 

Congressman Murtha, the powerful Democratic head of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for defense, was visiting Mobile, AL and made a rather stupid recommendation for the KC-X program. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that he said the Air Force should split the work between Boeing and the EADS-Northrop Grumman team. Unless the military is going to buy large numbers of a system — and 150 odd tankers does not count — the costs associated with having two training, support and parts systems are unjustifiable. The aircraft would also end up more expensive as there is less economy of scale available with small lot buys. Murtha is just trying to split the knot but the suggestion is not practical.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US Air Force bans Alliant Techsystems from bidding on contracts

February 6, 2008 by Matthew Potter · 1 Comment
Filed under: Alliant Techsystems, Suspensions, U.S. Air Force, production program 

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Air Force has temporarily banned Alliant Techsystems from bidding on contracts due to a lawsuit filed by a former employee related to the company’s flares. See the article here. Alliant is appealing this decision, but in the short term will not be able to bid on any contract until the case is resolved. Because it is a whistleblower case the US Department of Justice is involved.

Tags:

>