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Having been in the USN throughout the 80's/90's just a different perspective. The navy was migrating away from the F-14 to the F/A-18 which provided a more adaptive aircraft for the perceived threats at a lower production cost. Grumman still makes the COD & E2c aircraft that I am aware of. I remember Grumman wanting to close the facility on LI because the cost for everything was just too high. Also the practise of awarding contracts to facilities other than the creator is not new, even in WWII manufacturing contracts went to the winning bid, not the designer.
Yep, they are actually bidding for a new version of the COD and still make the E2 (now the E2D) all built now in St Augustine, Fl. Bethpage, however still does a lot of the software and engineering work.
Having worked in defense on Long Island in the 80's all I can say are contracts come and contracts go. The 80's were booming but the writing was on the wall that Long Island was going to lose the aerospace and defense business. One reason was the trouble with getting talented engineers to move to the Island as the COL made their asking salaries higher than elsewhere in the country (you can't eat beach). Another was the cost of shipping materials and finished product on and off. Truckers hate sitting in traffic and unless you paid them above their usual amount they'd turn work down for more lucrative loads elsewhere. Many more reasons that just kept chipping at aerospace and defense industry's reasons to do business on the Island.
Fairchild lost with the T-46 and was bought by Dornier and the Air Force hasn't gone through their stock of A-10s. Great jet.
Yet ironically, where did Northrop Grumman relocate to? Florida! One of there facilities is on US1 south of JAX and within spitting distance of the beach.
Yet ironically, where did Northrop Grumman relocate to? Florida! One of there facilities is on US1 south of JAX and within spitting distance of the beach.
Actually there was no relocation per se. Grumman had built and was operating facilities down in FL long before they Merged with Northrop, but I certainly can see the irony there!
Actually there was no relocation per se. Grumman had built and was operating facilities down in FL long before they Merged with Northrop, but I certainly can see the irony there!
Several of my friends fathers had the option: move to Florida or go look for another job. Not knowing the full history of Grumman/Northrop merger, I thought it was Northrop telling them to relocate or else.
Yet ironically, where did Northrop Grumman relocate to? Florida! One of there facilities is on US1 south of JAX and within spitting distance of the beach.
The guy who said, you can't eat beach, was the head of Norden Systems, and was in response to another exec offering selling points of why an engineer should move to the Island for the same pay as he could make elsewhere.
Beaches can be a selling point, but if the COL and salaries don't match living by sand usually drops out pretty quick.
Several of my friends fathers had the option: move to Florida or go look for another job. Not knowing the full history of Grumman/Northrop merger, I thought it was Northrop telling them to relocate or else.
In the end it was. We moved in 93' my father wisely saw the writing on the wall and transferred (and is still there). Shortly after the Northrop merger in 94' the F14 contract ended and tons of people put in for transfers to Florida, and of course there were no where near enough jobs to go around. I knew a guy in procurement while I worked for NG down in FL, he was an old school Grumman guy, he showed me a procurement slip request for 20k pink slip forms back from 94' that he had kept. Pretty sad.
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*barf*
