by Jeff Heilman
The lean economy is turning mean for workers and job hunters, reports the NY Times.
Reluctant to add workers, many U.S. companies are engaged in what Ed McKelvey, a senior economist at Goldman Sachs, calls “a hiring strike.”
Bad news for Boeing, too, which just lost out on a $35 billion contract to supply refuelling tankers to the U.S. Air Force. The winner of this crucial military contract, awarded by the USAF itself? A joint venture (French and German) defense group, EADS.
As stated on Randy’s Journal, the blog from Boeing’s marketing VP Randy Tinseth: “Obviously we are very disappointed with this outcome. We believe that we offered the Air Force the best value and lowest risk tanker for its mission. Our next step is to request and receive a debrief from the Air Force.”
Here’s one of the several incredulous comments on the blog: “A French company (and yes I know it was a joint venture, but hey, c'mon) supplying military equipment to the USAF ahead of a credible U.S. company with a credible product. How did this happen? Unbelievable!”
EADS and its U.S. partner Northrop Grumman swear the deal with create “thousands of jobs” in the U.S., but that’s of scant solace to Boeing’s 160,738 employees. And what of the award of such a sizeable contract to a foreign entity in a time when the U.S. economy is sinking?
It’s a heavy mix of politics and procurement economics—what are your thoughts on this deal?