BAE Systems yesterday said by the end of June 2014, doors will be shuttered at its Sealy, Texas, facility that has been a tactical vehicle production site since 1990.
“The company greatly appreciates the hard work and dedication of the entire workforce in Sealy,” said Erwin Bieber, president of BAE Systems Land & Armaments sector. “We explored every possible option to maintain the viability of the facility, but the decline in U.S. defense spending has made it necessary for us to continue rationalizing our business base. This was a difficult decision, but it in no way reflects upon the hard work and commitment of the employees. We will do all we can to assist them during this difficult transition.”
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| RG 33 MRAP Photo: BAE Systems |
With reductions set in motion last month, a total of approximately 325 employees that currently support military production will be affected by the closure of the Sealy facility, the company said in a statement.
It is anticipated that most of the Sealy employees will be released from the company between November and the end of June 2014.
The planned closure comes about two years after BAE lost the potential $3 billion contract to continue its 17 year history of building the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) to Oshkosh Corp. [OSK].
The Army detailed ending the FMTV program in the fiscal year 2013 budget, upon considerations of the end of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan and a reorganization and transition to a smaller force (Defense Daily, Feb. 14, 2012).
Since 2010, the Sealy plant has lost more than 1,000 jobs related to producing military tactical vehicles.
The company remains focused on fulfilling its customer commitments and will now begin the process to complete or transition existing program work to other BAE Systems facilities. Some programs will transition in whole or in part, while some will be completed and final deliveries made to the customer prior to closure.
BAE Systems will continue to play a major armor cab and protection role as a key member of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] JLTV team. It will continue to provide solutions and manufacturing expertise with other efforts to support a cost effective, efficient and high quality JLTV offering, it said in a statement.
BAE Systems acquired the military production business through its purchase of Armor Holdings, Inc. in 2007.
The BAE Systems Sealy facility produces U.S. government and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) trucks for missile platforms, turrets and turret systems for various vehicle platforms, multiple construction cabs, and spare parts for FMTV-based vehicles and MRAPs. The facility also has contracts for commercial oil and gas equipment enclosures.