General Dynamics [GD] yesterday said in concert with the Army and the union, it plans to furlough 82 workers on the tank line at the Lima Army Tank plant in Lima, Ohio.
Employees have been notified and Congress has been briefed.
The month long furlough–Jan. 28 through Feb. 25–was agreed to by General Dynamics, the Army and the union as the best way to solve a “lumpy” or stop-and-start production line.
“This shows you the effect of Congress having decided to put money into the Army’s tank budget so there was a minimal effort to upgrade U.S. Army tanks which provides a flexible base that you can adjust when the international sales schedule becomes lumpy,” Peter Keating, vice president Communications at General Dynamics Land Systems told Defense Daily.
While there is a lot more international work in the plans than there is work for the U.S. Army, the international customer’s scheduling for tank delivery can be lumpy, changing for a variety of reasons such as operational needs or training dates, Keating said.
“That then causes you to have to layoff workers, bring them back and lay them off, giving a peak and valley effect,” he said. There is some domestic work which have strong fielding plans and good training schedules, and can fill those valleys with U.S. tanks and smooth out the lumpiness and avoid major layoffs.
General Dynamics used the money Congress provided more than a year ago to fill in those production gaps at a lower rate, where changes in the international work would cause major layoffs.
All four Congressional defense committees continued supporting funding at some level for the U.S. tank procurement line, but the fiscal year 2013 budgeting process is not complete, so the outcome is unclear.
There is plenty of international work, including this month a $132.7 million order for procurement and production of 69 Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) Abrams tanks for Saudi Arabia (Defense Daily, Jan. 9).
During the planned furlough, agreed by the union which will accept short-term furloughs versus more formal layoffs, the 82 employees will maintain their seniority, their medical and dental plans and would be able to draw unemployment, while having their jobs to go back to once the furlough period is over.
The goal of the furlough is to be more productive and economical with a smoother production flow, given the bumpy timing of recent awards and Foreign Military Sales.