To: Brumar89 who wrote (699848 ) 2/19/2013 1:43:21 PM From: FJB 1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) | Respond to Pink slips being printed as Congress vacations, defense industry likely to cut thousands of jobs washingtontimes.com Pentagon -related companies large and small are preparing to lay off thousands of employees as Congress takes a recess this week, so far unable to agree on how to undo automatic military spending cuts set to begin March 1. BAE Systems Inc. , a global giant that provides an array of goods and services for the military, estimates that it will have to lay off as many as 4,000 workers this year, including technicians who work on aircraft, ships and vehicles and who earn an average of $50,000 a year. SEE RELATED: Red state Democrats in danger for pressing Obama’s agenda Ammcon Corp. of Portland, Ore., which makes pipe joints and flanges for aircraft carriers and submarines, says it will have to lay off about 25 percent of its 45 employees if the defense spending cuts begin March 1.which could lead to as many as 1.2 million lost jobs, according to an estimate by Stephen S. Fuller , director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. Pentagon would be required to cut $46 billion from its budget by Sept. 30 and as much as $500 billion from its 10-year spending plan.Enlarge Photo more > Pentagon has held spending at 2012 levels and is due to expire March 27, when Congress must renew the resolution or approve a defense budget bill.BAE spokesman Brian Roehrkasse . SEE RELATED: Sequestration becomes partisan game of political chicken on the Hill Ashton Carter told a congressional hearing last week that “60 to 70 cents of every dollar that we contract ends up in a subcontractor, and many of these are small businesses that don’t have the capital structure to be able to withstand blows.”Contractors and subcontractors First Line Technologies of Chantilly, Va., makes cooling vests for troops to wear underneath their body armor and employs about a dozen people. Having experienced rapid growth last year, it was readying to hire about a dozen more workers before the uncertainty over sequestration developed, company President Amit Kapoor said.First Line Technologies is looking to market its products overseas and will hire employees abroad. Its strategy is to move quickly into overseas markets to avoid layoffs or having to close.Mr. Kapoor said. “Even if there’s an eleventh-hour deal made [on sequestration], it’s probably going to kick the can down the road.” Story Continues . .. View Entire Story 2 3 next ›› washingtontimes.com
