United Technologies Sees 5,000 Jobs at Risk in Shutdown
By Tim Catts - Oct 3, 2013
United Technologies Corp. (UTX), a supplier of helicopters and jet engines to the U.S. military, said an extended government shutdown would force furloughs of as many as 5,000 workers.
The first effect will be layoffs for about 2,000 Sikorsky Aircraft employees on Oct. 7, and possibly 2,000 more at Pratt & Whitney and UTC Aerospace Systems if the shutdown runs into next week, the company said yesterday in a statement. It said a shutdown into November could push the total past 5,000.
Potential cuts at Hartford, Connecticut-based United Technologies underline federal contractors’ vulnerability as the faceoff between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders drags on. With no funding for government operations in place for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1, services ranging from medical research to tax audits are on hold.
“The effects of the shutdown are relatively slow at first,” said Jeffrey Ladewig, associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut. “The first wave are federal employees, the second wave would be contractors and then deeper into the economy would be the suppliers and distribution centers that support all those companies.”
more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/united-technologies-sees-5-000-jobs-at-risk-in-shutdown.html
