As President Obama attempts to spin his way out of over-promising the immediate effects of his signature piece of legislation, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)...
... a thousand defense workers get their pink slips today:
"Our hearts and compassion certainly go out to our employees" and others affected by the layoffs, [Boeing VP Tony Jones] said Thursday.
In a statement, Boeing said layoff notices will be issued to about 250 employees working in GMD [Ground-based Midcourse Defense, i.e. long-range ICBM interceptors]at various locations, including Alabama, Alaska, California and Colorado. They are to receive an official 60-day advance notice today, but Jones said it won't be a surprise.
"We've talked to all of our employees," he said. "We've done a lot of work" to try and minimize the impact, find jobs in other programs for as many as possible and provide other assistance.
The cuts are part of 1,000 jobs Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems said this week it plans to eliminate at various locations because of changes in defense spending.
The defense budget released by President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this year takes $1.2 billion from the Missile Defense Agency, which has a proposed 2010 budget of about $7.8 billion.
Boeing is not alone. Since the stimulus was enacted in April, several missile defense firms have been forced to swing the axe:
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Lockheed Martin --- stop work order issued on the Multiple Kill Vehicle.
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Northrop Grumman --- stop work order issued on the Kinetic Energy Interceptor.
It's hard to say how many missile defense people have lost their jobs so far. Of course, missile defense is not the only area to suffer Pentagon cuts. However, of all the defense programs, it has borne the largest percetage budget cut --- nearly 15%.
To borrow Obama's favorite rhetorical tic --- "let me be clear" --- these highly skilled, highly paid jobs were eliminated not because of any temporary economic downturn (finance sector) or fickle consumer whims (autos).
Obama and his Democrat legislators pro-actively chose to have these people fired. He chose to throw these folks on to the street and right in the teeth of a rather brutal recession.
All while choosing to make the US less safe. Perfect.
To my now unemployed colleagues in the missile defense industry, I'd offer to help out in any way with similar postions at my own firm, but surprise-surprise: hiring freeze.
What a stimulus...
They gave Boeing, SAIC, BAE, and GD stop work orders on the Future Combat Systems program also. I left last week because I would have been let go within a week or two - they'd already canned half the contract engineers. Just at that company, it'll probably mean 500 - 1000 layoffs.
In that particular case, a lot of people agree with Gates' plan to realign and restructure the program. But they don't particularly care for the abrupt tossing a bunch of hardworking engineers onto the street. A transition would have been fairer and smarter - they're crippling our ability to staff these programs in the future by destroying continuity and souring engineers on defense work.
From the economy's perspective, it'll take 20 of those high school summer jobs to equal one of the jobs lost with the defense industry layoffs. Way to prioritize, President Obama.
Posted by: geoff | July 17, 2009 at 05:13 PM
Hopey Changemas, Everybody!!!
Posted by: 2Hotel9 | July 18, 2009 at 07:21 AM
Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: Forgive me, El Guapo. I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education. But could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me? ~~Three Amigos 1986
Posted by: col.smeag | July 18, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Yeah, I work for BAE Systems in Minneapolis and we've sent about 350 people home from Army Programs and our Santa Clara, CA facility is being basically shut down...amazing that all these jobs could be "saved" by direct action from the government, jobs Obama could legitimately say "yep, I saved jobs." Oh wait, yeah, these engineers and whatnot can now go participate in Obama's "shovel-ready" programs. Douche.
Posted by: Ben | July 22, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Definitely consider other countries if U want to be in aerospace. Russia, China, India, & France are hiring.
Posted by: x | July 22, 2009 at 08:33 PM
So the government spending money on "make-work" jobs is OK, as long as the workers are building weapons instead of infrastructure?
Are you retarded?
And missile defense is the ultimate "make-work" project - it doesn't work, costs far too much, and was a scam in the first place.
Posted by: Matt | September 17, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Matt,
National defense is a Constitutionally enumerated responsibility of the federal government; digging ditches is not.
As for missile defense "not working" --- well, who's the retard?
Posted by: John McKittrick | September 18, 2009 at 06:08 AM