“Approximately 46% of our civilians across the command are subject to furlough,” command spokeswoman Wendy Varhegyi told this newspaper. “At Wright-Patt, approximately 75% are furlough eligible.”
She added that she could not give a precise number for impacted Wright-Patterson employees.
That would make some 9,800 civilian employees at Wright-Patterson furlough-eligible.
It was unclear Wednesday afternoon how many area employees had actually been furloughed from a military installation traditionally regarded as the state of Ohio’s largest single-site employer.
Before Trump administration efforts to reduce federal employment numbers, AFMC had a total of about 89,000 employees.
“Our mission to develop, deliver, support, and sustain war-winning capabilities fills a vital need to our Air Force and our nation,” Varhegyi said. “However, Air Force Materiel Command is currently under a lapse in appropriations, resulting in limited capacity to continue operations as usual.”
“Until we receive new appropriations from Congress, we are operating with minimal staffing and are unable to continue at the necessary staffing levels our mission requires,” she also said. “Additionally, there will be impacts to the public since our museums across the command will close, including the National Museum of U.S. Air Force, and community and public outreach programs will not be supported during a lapse in appropriations.”
Before Trump administration efforts to reduce the number of federal workers, Wright-Patterson was home to about 38,000 military and federal employees total.
An AFMC spokesman recently referred questions about more current employment numbers to the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon.
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