Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
Lockheed Martin is trimming its Orion spacecraft workforce by 20% as it works with NASA to redefine the vehicle as a crew rescue capsule for International Space Station crews. The cuts amount to 300 Lockheed Martin employees and 300 subcontractor personnel. While the company is working to find new positions for the displaced staff within the company, “layoff notices are probably inevitable, and that will happen shortly,” according to Linda Karanian, Lockheed’s Washington-based director of human space flight programs.
USAF COMMS: Arinc Engineering Services has won the U.S. Defense Department’s Data Link Services Provider contract, which means the company will continue as the primary provider of commercial aviation communication services for the U.S. Air Force. The company has fulfilled this role since 2001. The award, managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency, has a total value of $20 million over five years.
NEW CONTRACT: Lockheed Martin has reached a new three-year agreement with members of the Federated Independent Texas Union (FITU), covering about 270 workers who perform manufacturing planning, tool design and tool manufacturing planning in the Fort Worth, Texas, facility that houses production of the F-35, F-16, major portions of the F-22 and other aircraft programs. The contract became effective at midnight on June 13. About 4,500 of the 14,400 workers at the Fort Worth plant are represented by unions.
