Artificial intelligence-powered hiring software helps recruiters get more work done and sift through more resumes, but what about the candidate? Is AI helpful for candidates or are some being automatically rejected? That question is one that recent New York City legislation is looking to answer. NYC council will now require companies who sell AI-powered hiring software to have their service scrutinized with a third-party audit to make sure that the software is not discriminating or have any specific bias. This legislation levels the playing field for AI companies that are already more transparent about the hiring selection process. For now, the impact is on those hiring in NYC, but time will tell if the change is one that has a ripple effect across the country. But this wouldn’t be the first time that legislation that began in NYC went from sea to shining sea. Restaurants across the country all changed their menus and added health information based on NYC legislation.
Layoffs Impacting the Cleared Industry
| Kauffman Engineering |
Organizations are still feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – and not just when it comes to mask or vaccine mandates. They’re still feeling it on their bottom line. Kauffman Engineering says the global pandemic is the reason for their struggles and the need to layoff 58 employees. The almost 50-year old company has locations all over the U.S. and Mexico, and they supply wiring and cables for a variety of industries, including aerospace. Kauffman Engineering plans to shut down two plants in Lebanon, IN, which leads to the 58 layoffs. “It is expected that all 47 employees will be permanently laid off on January 21, 2022,” the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification requirement sent to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reads. “Another 11 employees will be laid off on March 18, 2022. Four employees will be offered internal positions within the company. Kauffman expects that the closing of the facilities and layoffs will be permanent.” |
|---|
Hiring impacting the Cleared Industry
|
PZL Mielec (Lockheed Martin) |
Global operations for companies like Lockheed Martin translate to hiring on different continents. PZL Mielec, Lockheed Martin’s Poland unit was selected to produce components of the F-16. The work keeps 200 jobs at this location, in addition to creating another 60. The last time PZL Mielec played a role in manufacturing fighter aircraft was during the 1960s. The aerostructures will be exported for final assembly in Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, SC facility.
Lockheed Martin Poland, Central and East Europe director Robert Orzylowski said: “Today’s announcement underlines our commitment to PZL Mielec and to growing Lockheed Martin’s industrial footprint in Poland, where we currently employ around 1,600 people directly and sustain work for more than 5,000 others in the Polish supply chain.” |
|---|
Cleared Employer at Work: Northrop Grumman
At Northrop Grumman, you can visualize a career that can take you places, build your skills, and grow – not just for a project, but for a career. Discover a role that’s right for you. Explore opportunities.
Opportunity to Watch
BlueHalo announced it has acquired Asymmetrik Ltd. (Asymmetrik). Founded in 2008, Asymmetrik is a leading developer of software solutions and technology tools used to enable the Intelligence Community’s (IC) most advanced programs. With a strong presence in Fort Meade, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, Asymmetrik delivers leading open-source intelligence (OSINT) technologies to enable the collection and analysis of publicly available information (PAI). The Company has extensive experience developing applications across multiple domains including OSINT, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), cryptocurrency, blockchain analytics, real-time streaming analytics, cybersecurity, and federated search. With over 120 employees based out of the Company’s Annapolis Junction, Maryland headquarters, Asymmetrik has developed a robust suite of solutions which the Company has successfully deployed across multiple agencies within the IC.
BlueHalo is a rapidly expanding national security platform with market-leading capabilities spanning directed energy, c-UAS, space superiority, space technology, advanced RF, autonomy, cyber, and SIGINT. The acquisition of Asymmetrik is highly complementary to BlueHalo’s Cyber and SIGINT franchise, providing differentiated software development capabilities underpinned by a culture of excellence in engineering. Further, this combination with BlueHalo creates a formidable player in OSINT technologies for the IC with a broad collection of products and capabilities that leverage PAI and complement National asset collection to create enriched data sets and actionable insights for intelligence professionals.
“Asymmetrik has built a world-class, mission-focused business on the foundation of its people and its culture. We could not be more thrilled to welcome the Asymmetrik team to BlueHalo as we bring our combined capabilities to bear solving some of the IC’s most challenging problems. The combination of Asymmetrik’s and BlueHalo’s deep technical capabilities, cultures of excellence, and focus on the mission will only further enhance our ability to serve our customers’ most important and complex needs,” said Jonathan Moneymaker, Chief Executive Officer of BlueHalo.
David Wodlinger, a Partner at Arlington Capital Partners, said “The market for OSINT technologies is expanding rapidly as customers seek to capitalize on the proliferation of open-source data that increasingly is becoming foundational to the intelligence collection and analysis process. Asymmetrik is a standout performer in developing innovative software tools that advance the capabilities within this discipline and we are delighted to bring such an innovative company into BlueHalo.”
Amit Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Asymmetrik, and Mike Frentz, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Asymmetrik, shared, “We are excited to welcome the next chapter of the Asymmetrik story under the banner of BlueHalo and provide our new and existing customers a more expansive set of tools, capabilities, and resources driving a tangible impact to the critical and ever-evolving mission at hand. We could not have found a better partner in BlueHalo where together, we will continue to tackle the most challenging problems our customers are facing.”
Henry Albers, a Vice President at Arlington Capital Partners, said “Asymmetrik has earned the trust of the IC’s most demanding customers by creating software that addresses the hardest challenges in OSINT collection and analysis. With access to BlueHalo’s extensive resources, infrastructure, and past performance, we believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on numerous growth opportunities.”
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton served as legal counsel to BlueHalo. Chertoff Capital served as financial advisor and Holland and Knight served as legal counsel to Asymmetrik.
