The sun seems to be peaking through the clouds, and people are slowly coming back outside. It’s not all doom and gloom this week, but we are now in a bit of a second wave of layoffs. The beginning of the pandemic seemed to hit those on the front line with layoffs first, and now as we start to recover, the frontline workers are back at work first. But now, with revenue down and profits impacted, there could be another wave with white collar workers being hit.
Layoffs Impacting the Defense Industry
| Deloitte | Deloitte cites the need to better align resources with their client’s evolving needs as the reason behind their 5% layoff. The cuts impact multiple business lines, focusing on advising and consultancy roles, and they will impact positions all the way up to the partner level. Deloitte spokesman Jonathan Gandal said, “demand for our services continues to be strong and we are doing all that we can to minimize the impact on our people in this unprecedented environment.” |
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| DXC Technology | DXC Technology is planning to eliminate 4,500 positions in an effort to reduce its costs and effectively respond to its customers’ needs. CEO Mike Salvino cites the need to simplify management layers and respond to revenue runoff that “was due to suboptimal customer delivery and weakening customer relationships,” causing the company to lose about $1 Billion of revenue in FY20. The company projects to lose about the same amount in FY21. DXC has had to cut costs and has suffered loss of customers. Salvino hopes that with less internal complexities, the organization can rally. |
The defense contracts are continuing, and it is still a prime time to jump ship if the right opportunity arises. Don’t forget to reach out to your current networks – even if you can’t meet face-to-face very easily. The post pandemic job searching rules have adjusted slightly, so it’s good to be prepared as much as possible.
Hiring impacting the Defense Industry
| ManTech International | ManTech shot for the moon and landed among the stars. The organization recently secured a $20 million contract extension with the US Space Force. The contract is to provide launch systems engineering and integration services. ManTech has posted thousands of listings. |
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| Anduril Industries | The Irvine, CA company is looking to expand to Seattle. Anduril is hiring engineers to work on their defense technologies. Anduril has contracts with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the British Ministry of Defense. The company has 200 employees between its CA and Washington DC offices. So far, seven employees have been added in Seattle; however, Anduril CEO Brian Schrimpf hopes to have the Seattle location up to 25 by the end of 2021. Anduril’s products include a range of drones, and the organization focuses on building various products that continue to support the military. |
Employer to Watch
Everybody loves to complain about the federal government as an employer. Every year, Congress tries to set another budget, and it can be a tense time for the faithful federal employee. Contractors continue to go to work each day due to contracts already signed and in place, despite the Congress’s inability to set the next budget. Phrases like “trim the fat” get thrown about, and federal workers worry about whether or not they will get paid for their time on furlough.
Enter 2020, and suddenly, working for the federal government doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Listen. No one will guarantee you a quick hiring process. From experience, hiring and onboarding are not the federal governments selling points. However, there is something about signing off on contracts and driving programs instead of constantly trying to answer proposals.
It’s not impossible to get fired from a federal position, and federal agencies are working on dismissing “nonproductive” employees. So, there could be some turnover in the federal government, so be on the watch for emerging jobs. There are thousands of federal positions open right now, many of them are open specifically for veterans. While it is great to be a defense contractor, it can also be quite rewarding to work directly for Uncle Sam. Now could be a great time to work on that federal resume.
