A general “downturn in its satellite assembly and integration business” has led Boeing to announce that it must lay off about 750 employees in southern California, according to a May 21 company release. Boeing recently lost out on the contract to develop and build the next generation Global Positioning Satellite, GPS III. Craig Cooning, VP and GM of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, attributed the cuts to “stretching out of government contract awards, along with a continuing lighter demand in the commercial marketplace for large, high-power satellites.” That situation, he said, “has created a surplus in the workforce” that the company must address “now so that we are competitive.” The company release notes that Boeing wants to “redeploy many of the affected workers in California and at other sites where the company has suitable job openings.”
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.