BAE workers like their jobs, coworkers, but vow to move on
Employees at BAE Systems in North Union Township like their jobs and coworkers but said they will look for other jobs where they will make new friends after the plant closes.
The company announced that it will close the plant by the end of the year, because the Army is shutting down its Bradley Fighting Vehicle program for at least three years starting in 2014.
BAE’s plant in Lemont Furnace has been repairing and upgrading Bradleys for the U.S. and foreign militaries since it opened in 1993.
Sharon Kosisko of Connellsville, who has been working at the plant as an administrative assistant for nine of those years, said the 87 employees are like an extended family.
“We have some really talented, great people that work for us,” Kosisko said on Thursday, hours after officials from BAE’s headquarters in Virginia came to the plant to deliver the news about the closing.
“We’ve all worked together for years,” said Jennifer Huseman, an eight-year accounting department employee who lives in Masontown. “I do payroll. I’m close with all the employees.”
Some of the employees could be transferred to other BAE facilities, but Kosisko and Huseman said they would not accept any transfer offers, because they don’t want to leave their families.
They said their coworkers, many of whom are military veterans, were surprised and disappointed about the closing. They hope all their fellow employees are able to find new jobs.
“This is a good job. It’s tough to find a new one in this area. I’ll just look for another opportunity,” Kosisko said. “I think that’s the hardest part — starting all over again. It’s going to be a tough transition, but I’m a tough cookie. I’ll make it through.”
“We have great welders,” Huseman said.
“We have great office workers, too,” Kosisko added.
Huseman said the plant was “booming” with business when she was hired, and 300 people were hired in 2006 when the plant was ramping up its operations.
The Fayette County plant is a division of BAE’s land and armament sector, one of four company sectors, which has 6,112 employees. That sector had more than 20,000 employees just four years ago, the company said. BAE has a total of 37,223 employees at facilities across the country.
Work on existing contracts at Fayette County plant is expected to be completed by the end of November.
The plant is part of the Bradley Industrial Base, a network of 586 small-to-large manufacturers and other businesses across the country, including 100 in Pennsylvania, that maintain the readiness of the Bradley and several other armored vehicles. BAE’s plant in York is the hub of the network, and the jobs of some its 1,200 employees also are in jeopardy.
The company said Bradleys will remain in use until at least 2030 and is asking the army to continue funding a maintenance program for the vehicles. A maintenance program would save jobs at the York plant but not at the Lemont Furnace plant, a company official said.