United States | News & Politics

Yeah, we’re sending our outdated equipment for them to dispose of

This is the best summary I could come up with:

WASHINGTON —  Billions of dollars being spent by the federal government to arm Ukraine and replenish U.S. military stockpiles have been slow to translate into a significant number of new jobs in the U.S. as defense manufacturers grapple with logistical challenges in ramping up production.

Weapons manufacturers and Defense Department officials declined to say how many workers have been hired to help meet the increased demand, but comments by company executives and corporate filings indicate that the number of jobs has been relatively small compared to the overall size of the industry despite the flood of federal dollars.

More than a year and a half since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, defense companies say they have been struggling to hire workers in a tight labor market, untangle supply chain snarls and restart mothballed production lines.

RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon, has said that supply chain disruptions and difficulty hiring engineers, skilled laborers and security clearance holders along with high turnover and rising wages have hindered its ability to meet demand for its weapons, like those being used in the war in Ukraine.

The company is in the process of building a new plant in Mesquite, Texas that would eventually employ 125 workers making artillery shell casings that have been in high demand since Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Typically, the first thing companies will do is have people work overtime, then they’ll add a shift,” said Brad Martin, director of the Institute for Supply Chain Security at the RAND Corporation.

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