China has imposed sanctions on five American defense contractors, including BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Alliant Techsystems Operations, AeroVironment, Viasat, and Data Link Solutions, in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and previous U.S. sanctions on Chinese entities. The move comes ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election. It’s being viewed as a response to a $300 million U.S. military package for Taiwan approved in December. The sanctions freeze any property the companies have in China and prohibit business dealings with Chinese entities. However, the impact may be largely symbolic, given that American defense contractors typically do not sell to China. The move further escalates tensions between the U.S. and China.
Layoffs: Amentum
More than 90 workers at the U.S. Coast Guard base in Elizabeth City, performing aircraft maintenance on C-130s, face permanent layoffs following a military contract switch. Amentum, based in Chantilly, VA, filed a notice for the layoffs but expects all employees to receive job offers from the incoming contractor, Logmet, based in Austin, TX. The shift in contracts, valued at $58.1 million over five years, is a routine evolution with defense contracting. The Industrial Division of the Communication Workers of America represents the affected employees.
Hiring: Navistar
Navistar Defense’s Mississippi facility in West Point plans to hire 75 employees. The defense contractor secured a new $60.92 million federal contract to refurbish and upgrade MaxxPro PLUS Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. The contract, funded by the Fiscal 2024 Foreign Military Sales (United Arab Emirates) contract, is expected to be completed by July 1, 2025. The West Point facility, Navistar’s primary manufacturing site since 2006, has been pivotal in producing over 9,000 MaxxPro vehicles for the U.S. military and exporting them to various countries. The recent contract is a positive development after the facility announced layoffs last fall due to reduced demand for its intermodal trailer program.
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Opportunity to Watch
The DoD is seeking industry input for the creation of a digital platform to enhance contract management. The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) at DoD has issued an open call, ending on January 14, inviting insights on an electronic filing solution. They want it to seamlessly integrate into the agency’s existing technology ecosystem. The envisioned platform aims to facilitate secure document storage and access, track changes, and enhance workflow for DoD personnel. The CDAO emphasized the importance of a modern, user-friendly system that provides real-time insights into document usage and storage for effective contract management.
