Production lines continue apace at Boeing’s Hazelwood defense operations, even as another big defense contractor warned it’ll furlough thousands of workers Monday if the federal government shutdown continues.
United Technology Corp. said late Wednesday that will idle 2,000 workers at its Sikorsky helicopter plant on Monday unless Defense Department inspectors are back on the job by then. If the shutdown stretches another week, 2,000 more would be furloughed, UTC said.
The reason?
Inspectors from the mostly civilian Defense Contract Management Agency, who work in military plants inspecting parts, were furloughed Tuesday. That put a halt to production, the company said.
It’s “so hard to build helicopters when they can’t be inspected,” UTC chief financial officer Gregory Hayes told Wall Street analysts Tuesday, according to the Hartford Courant.
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DCMA also has a team of about 180 people on-site at Boeing, which makes the F-15, F/A-18 Super Hornet, and parts for the F-22 and C-17 at its plants in north St. Louis County. An agency spokeswoman — who was called off furlough to handle press inquiries for the afternoon — said Thursday that all but 30 had been furloughed.
“The rest are doing what they can, what’s allowed by law,” said spokeswoman Jackie Noble.
Boeing said it has “contingency plans in place to deal with interruptions,” and is working with DCMA to keep its assembly lines up and running.
“We continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on any interrupted operations,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, normal production is expected to continue for most programs during a short-duration shutdown.”
When asked how Boeing defines a “short-duration shutdown,” a spokeswoman replied: “We’re assessing that.”
