Thursday, February 21, 2013

Sequestration Could Have Big Impact On LA

With all of the political wrangling in Washington regarding sequestration, the actual human toll has been overlooked.

If the automatic budget cuts take place as planned on March 1st, almost 4,000 Louisiana jobs could be reduced or completely eliminated.

The U.S. Army said that 3,139 civilian Army employees could be given unpaid time off starting in April and 809 contractor jobs will be eliminated. In dollar terms, sequestration would cause a $113 Million economic loss for our state.

In addition, shipbuilding projects could be curtailed or eliminated, directly impacting the Avondale shipyard. The direct impact on jobs at Avondale is not known at this point.