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Fridley defense contractor BAE to cut jobs
The company did not say how many workers would be cut after the Army halted work on project.
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The scaling down of a big military project will mean layoffs next week at the BAE Systems plant in Fridley, but the defense contractor isn't saying how many.
BAE employees in Minnesota have been working on a cannon firing platform, part of a project to develop the next generation of combat equipment for the U.S. Army.
But the Army announced last month that it would "partially terminate" elements of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) project, and that decision affects BAE workers in Fridley.
"We are anticipating layoffs in the Minneapolis [area] facility as well as in other locations," BAE spokeswoman Kelly Golden said Friday.
She said she didn't have a number for the total job cuts in Fridley, nor did she have layoff numbers for a few other U.S. plants.
Golden said that BAE managers have been telling their employees that the layoffs will occur "on or before Aug. 21."
BAE is a large defense contractor in Minnesota, employing 1,319 people at the Fridley plant.
Typically, companies notify the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development when they are planning substantial layoffs. But department spokeswoman Kirsten Morell said Friday that the department had not yet received word from BAE Systems.
The Army has issued a stop-work order for the non-line-of-sight cannon and manned ground vehicle components of the Future Combat Systems project, in which Boeing Co. is the lead contractor. BAE is one of many suppliers and subcontractors working with Boeing.
The Defense Department said the Army is considering a new ground combat vehicle and wants to incorporate "lessons learned and threats encountered from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Almost three years ago, BAE Systems in Minnesota unveiled the cannon firing platform, featuring a .38-caliber length, fully automated 155-millimeter howitzer.
At the time, a BAE official said it would provide "push-button firepower" and "give soldiers an even more lethal, flexible and responsive fire support option."
BAE Systems is a global defense and aerospace company based in England with sales of $34.4 billion in 2008.
Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709
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