Wright, 27, of Hamilton, is one of the 480 contract and full-time workers laid off at BAE Systems’ West Chester Twp. plant within the past two months. The newest were announced Tuesday, April 13, as the company said 180 full-time workers were laid off, effective immediately. Employees were offered severance packages, career transition assistance and the opportunity to apply for other jobs within BAE Systems, said Jennifer Robinson, spokeswoman.
About 300 people, mostly temporary contract workers like Wright, were laid off in March.
Workers had feared the cuts since November when it became clear that several major contracts were slowing and shifts were being shortened from 60 to 40 hours a week, Wright said. Since then, he said tensions in the plant have been running high.
“We were told to save our money and not take any days off. Attitudes started to change and everybody was just real on edge,” Wright said. “It was nasty there. There wasn’t a smile in the whole building.”
The cuts stem from the wind-down of several major contracts for BAE, including one to arm the Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, or FMTV, to the Oshkosh Co. Workloads also have been affected by the U.S. military’s announcement that it would halt purchasing new armored Humvee vehicles, the company said.
“This was a very difficult decision, and was not one that was made lightly,” said Don Dutton, vice president of Security & Survivability for BAE Systems. “While we regret the need to reduce employment, adjusting our business to challenges now will better position us for consistent growth in the future.”
The cuts leave the company’s employee level at 1,320 workers locally, Robinson said.
“While some key contracts are winding down, we are continuing to aggressively pursue new business for our Cincinnati area operations,” Robinson said.
Staff W
riter
Marie Rossiter
contributed to this report.
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