Lockheed Martin eyes layoffs this fall Lockheed Martin is contemplating a pre-election move that could shake up the political landscape. Right before Election Day, the company is likely to notify the âvast majorityâ of its 123,000 workers that theyâre at risk of being laid off, said Greg Walters, the companyâs vice president of legislative affairs. Waltersâs comments are some of the most specific threats yet from an industry thatâs trying to head off the $500 billion in automatic cuts in defense spending set to begin taking effect Jan. 2. Called sequestration, the cuts are being phased in over 10 years, with about $55 billion slated for 2013. Unless Congress reaches a deal to stave off the cuts, âwe will find it necessary to issue these [layoff] notices probably to the vast majority of our employee base,â Walters told POLITICO. The company has little choice, he explained, because federal law requires large employers to provide two monthsâ notice to workers facing layoffs. âWe would see a requirement, an obligation, to issue [layoff] notices 60 days prior to sequestration taking effect,â he said. Lockheed Martin, the worldâs largest defense contractor and a bellwether of the industry, wonât be alone. Other defense contractors have also signaled theyâre considering sending out notices right before Election Day. The layoffs, of course, wonât all happen on Jan. 2, as it would likely take months for sequestration to begin affecting contractorsâ bottom lines. But the timing of the cuts â along with the requirement of 60-day notice â provides an opportunity for the defense industry to ratchet up the pressure on President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to tackle the issue before November. Only a fraction of Lockheedâs workers ultimately would be let go as a result of the cuts. But the company plans to send out mass notifications because it is unsure exactly which employees would be affected. The White House Office of Management and Budget has not yet provided guidance for how sequestration would be carried out. âWeâve wanted a dialog about what sequestration could look like,â Walters said. âBut as of right now, no, we have no answers from OMB.â Under sequestration, nearly every account in the Pentagon budget would be trimmed, resulting in a 10 percent reduction in the Defense Department, which has seen its funding roughly double since 2001, due largely to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said that because the cuts would be leveled across the board, Pentagon planners would not be able to prioritize what should be eliminated first. âI am very concerned,â he told POLITICO. âI feel an urgency because I think itâs happening right now. People are already being laid off, and jobs are already being frozen or theyâre not hiring, and Iâm frustrated.â McKeon is pushing a bill that would pay for the first year of sequestration through a 10-year, 10 percent reduction in the federal workforce, achieved through attrition. Asked about McKeonâs plan, Walters said Lockheed does not want to be seen as endorsing any particular proposal. âWe would prefer â without endorsing one alternative or another â we certainly would like the uncertainty removed going forward,â he said. And even if sequestration were delayed by a year, Walters added, âIt would still be an environment where we wouldnât be confident making investment and hiring decisions.â
How is this "fighting back"?? By law they have to give at least 2 months notice. The Pentagon will not give them any guidance on the cuts. They have no idea where the cuts will be, so naturally all of their employees are at risk. Its really the Pentagon that is ducking the issue or "fighting back" as you say, by not letting these contractors know which proigrams will be cut and by how much. Do you take a stupid pill every day?