Newsroom

Sequestration: A countdown to disaster

by Marion C. Blakey, AIA President & CEO
Originally appeared in Washington Business Journal, April 16, 2012

The following came from Robert Stevens, chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin during a keynote last month: “The aerospace and defense industry cannot wait until a lame duck session to deal with the consequences of sequestration. We are already taking action by not hiring and training new workers, not investing in new plants and equipment, and not investing in new R&D. An additional $53 billion a year in defense cuts starting in January 2013 would be catastrophic for our industry and our nation.”

That is the reality this industry faces, even before the January 2013 cuts kick in. It comes after coverage of two staggering numbers tied to Maryland and Virginia: 63,321 and 159,000. The first number is the number of aerospace and defense jobs in these states, according to a report by Deloitte commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association. The second figure – almost three times the first – is the number of total jobs at risk in these states if Congress doesn’t put a stop to the $1 trillion in defense cuts enacted in the budget deal last summer, according to a study led by local economist Dr. Stephen Fuller.

Read the full article.