Oshkosh Corp. [OSK] yesterday said it will add approximately 1,000 workers in a major employment buildup consisting of new hires and recalls that will maximize operations to supply MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV) to the services.
Oshkosh is hiring between 300 and 500 employees for its Defense unit facilities in Wisconsin and recalling 550 to 650 JLG Industries Inc. employees, primarily in Pennsylvania. JLG is an Oshkosh Corp. company.
On June 30, Oshkosh received an initial delivery order from the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command for 2,244 M-ATVs valued at $1.05 billion, following months of extensive government testing on multiple production-ready vehicles.
“We are using the combined resources of Oshkosh Corporation to ensure that our brave warfighters will have highly mobile, durable and survivable vehicles waiting for them when they arrive in Afghanistan,” Robert Bohn, Oshkosh Corp. chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Adding new employees to our Oshkosh Defense employment base and calling back skilled JLG employees at our underutilized JLG facilities will maximize our manufacturing operations and accelerate our M-ATV delivery schedule.”
The 300 to 500 new hires will work in Oshkosh, Wis., where there are four Defense production facilities. The 550 to 650 JLG employee callbacks will be at JLG facilities primarily in Pennsylvania.
Due to the urgent need request from the Defense Department, the first shipments of the Oshkosh M-ATV are scheduled for this month.
“Protection and the ability to successfully navigate the treacherous mountain terrain of Afghanistan are critically important for our soldiers and Marines. Oshkosh Corporation employees understand this and are committed to building the best M-ATV possible and to field them quickly,” Bohn said.
To achieve the off-road mobility that soldiers and Marines need in Afghanistan, Oshkosh integrated its TAK-4r independent suspension system into its M-ATV offering.
As further testament to the government’s confidence in this suspension system, Oshkosh recently received a supply order to equip more than 1,500 legacy MRAPs with the TAK-4 system and continues to work with the Army to evaluate using the system on additional legacy MRAP models.
More than 120 employees are being deployed to Kuwait to install the TAK-4 suspensions. These positions are being filled with Oshkosh Defense employees, as well as JLG employees and McNeilus employees currently on layoff. McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing also is an Oshkosh Corp. company.
The TAK-4 suspension system is currently used on more than 10,000 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements supplied to the Marines and Seabees, as well as on the Marines’ Logistics Vehicle System Replacement and the Army’s next-generation Palletized Load System.