Fórum Defesa Brasil

nukualofa77 escreveu:G-LOC citou: Esses gastos são feitos para manter o complexo militar e os estruturas agregadas a eles, porque não tem concorrência, não tem controle, a tecnologia e a segurança nacional são as desculpas perfeitas para serem ineficientes e corruptos, e não poderem ser cobrados de nada. Porém, os tempos de bonanza acabaram. Eu diria, nada mais parecido com o complexo industrial militar, que os especuladores do mercado financeiro.

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Concordo em gênero, nº e grau. Grande parte dos gastos do Pentágono é sustentados por lobistas (congressistas) ligados a empresas de defesa. Como também é inerente ao meio, muitas concorrência por ai afora, e não só no "3º mundo" são vencidas a base de propina, corrupção etc. Existe um livro chamado "Os mercadores de armas" (Anthony Sampson, Record, 1982) que fala justamente das concorrências fraudulentas das Indústria de defesa dos EUA na Europa, Japão, etc. A Lockheed, segundo este livro, sempre foi uma das maiores corruptoras.
As concorrências internas e externas sempre foram assim e o Pentágono, os congressistas, agências de governo, sabem muito bem como funciona esse "jogo" de centenas de bilhões de U$... Essas grandes corporações só se sustentam por causa de sua ligação umbilical com o governo. Atualmente, os poucos mega-grupos
do setor (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, mais alguns q não me lembro) concentram quase todo o mercado e tem um poder q contrasta o de muitos Estados Nacionais por ai...

Os EUA tem um complexo militar-industrial, parte bastante significativa de sua economia, q se sustenta pela guerra (dos EUA e dos outros), seja de baixa, média ou alta intensidade.

É a lógica do setor e de seus interesses (vide o setor de defesa e energia com a Guerra do Iraque...). É só fazer um exercício de memória e listarmos o nº impressionante de intervenções dos EUA só entre a Guerra do Vietnã (na qual ficaram certo tempo "traumatizados", quem dirá os vietnamitas e sus mais de 3 milhões de mortos...) e a 1ª do Golfo (a 1ª grande intervenção pós-Vietnã).

Se não existe uma demanda (para determinado equipamento), as empresas e os lobistas (do Pentágono e do congresso) criam uma. Sempre foi assim... Interesses determinados sempre ditaram muitas "prioridades"...

Crack in huge Alcoa press may move jobs from Cleveland to California
Posted by Sabrina Eaton and Frank Bentayou / Plain Dealer Reporters January 29, 2009 18:45PM
Categories: Manufacturing, Real Time News

Plain Dealer FileA worker sprays lubricant into a huge Mesta press at Alcoa on Harvard Ave in the Flats in August 2000. Now, a huge crack in the press will cost about $68 million to fix.
The 50,000-ton hydraulic press at Alcoa Forged and Cast Products in Cleveland is cracked and will need about $68 million in repairs for the plant to keep making parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet under a contract it signed with Lockheed Martin in 2007.

$68 milhoes para reparar a prensa


The 10-year-contract is worth $360 million to Alcoa, which is battling with its unions over how to pay for the repairs.

Alcoa has asked the unions to make concessions or face the transfer of jobs to a non-union facility in California, according to Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

On Thursday, Kucinich teamed up with House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania to write Alcoa a letter urging compromise. Murtha's subcommittee oversees all Pentagon spending.

"We understand that reasonable concessions from employees may be in the best interest of the company's financial health," said the letter to Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa's chief executive. "However, whether intentional or not, it would be alarming if Alcoa created a false choice for highly skilled and valuable employees who must now choose between losing their jobs and agreeing to concessions that undermine their health and financial stability."

The letter from Kucinich and Murtha says that even though Lockheed Martin and Ohio have offered Alcoa incentives to fix the inoperable press, the company has asked the union to agree to a four-year wage freeze, to a doubling of out-of-pocket health care costs for employees, to contract language that would undermine the union's right to strike, and to a benefit freeze for new hires.

The letter said Alcoa is "reported to be considering" the purchase of Shultz Steel Co., a non-union plant in California, to fulfill its Lockheed Martin contract if the union won't grant concessions.

"We further understand that if Alcoa fixes the inoperable press, Lockheed Martin will extend the duration of the subcontract for an additional 10 years and the State of Ohio will offer multi-million dollar tax incentives," the letter said.

Kevin Lowery, Alcoa's director of corporate communications, said the plant has kept to its work schedule on F-35 parts forgings by using a range of presses available at the Cleveland facility. "That said," he added in a phone interview, "we want to get that press back up and working, and we are looking at a number of different options to do that."

He added, "We are committed to continuing the work with all the different stakeholders to find the best solution for the business, our employees and the community at large."

Jeff Judson, president of UAW Local 1050, which represents the plant's workers, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. In a recent note to UAW members, Judson said Alcoa sought a four-year contact extension around the Christmas holidays, but discussions reached an impasse because "some of what they were asking for was too much."

"As always, the UAW is willing to listen," Judson said in his Jan. 27 update to Local 1050 members. "As always, your Union Leadership is committed to finding ways to secure jobs in OUR plant and to continue to help make Cleveland Works profitable. We are not going to sit back and watch our jobs disappear."

Alcoa already said it plans to cut costs dramatically. This month the aluminum company announced its first financial loss in six years, the result of plunging industrial demand worldwide. Alcoa reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.19 billion or $1.49 a share, compared with a $632 million profit, or 75 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Kleinfeld said Alcoa has embarked on "wide-ranging measures" in 2009 that include closing production facilities, terminating as many as 13,500 workers worldwide and selling some of its business units in order to downsize the corporation in light of slower sales.

The 1,250 employees at Alcoa's Forged and Cast Products facility in Cleveland were relieved to hear after the first of the year that relatively few local workers would lose their jobs. The plant, which makes auto and truck as well as some aviation wheels in addition to the lightweight frame members for the F-35, laid off 100 workers Jan. 7, including 50 salaried and 50 hourly, union employees.

Thursday it said 29 more union workers lost their jobs this week and received the same contractual severance package that the earlier dismissed workers received. A spokeswoman for the Cleveland plant did not say whether there would be additional local layoffs.

When Alcoa announced its cost-cutting efforts, it said it would reduce its then 104,000 global employment by 13 percent and also end jobs for another 1,700 contractors.

The company had indicated that the Cleveland jobs associated with the F-35 work were secure. Alcoa won an $850,000 commitment in Ohio workplace grants to help defer the cost of a $24 million capital improvement program and $400,000 for employee training.

the projection is the average across 2400+ aircraft.

Sterrius escreveu:

the projection is the average across 2400+ aircraft.

So eu acho esse numero fantasioso? Para quem não lembra o F22 tb tinha o sonho de ter uns 500 a 750 pedidos. Nos sabemos que no final acabou nem na metade disso.

Obvio que o F35 vai ser exportado, isso ajuda. Mas mesmo que somemos todas as exportações eu não consigo ver este caça saindo muito da faixa de 500-1000 aviões.

Até pq avião é ta igualzinho a computador. A cada X meses sai uma peça ou equipamento novo e o top de linha fica desatualizado precisando de upgrade. Ae tome de cancelar caças pra dar upgrade pros que ja existem.

Dieneces escreveu:Pô !! Pensei que o F-35 fosse maior...é menor que o Gripen!!

caixeiro escreveu:

Insiders said the White Paper will include cuts to approved programs across all three services and will shelve or defer several major "wish list" projects, including the $16 billion Joint Strike Fighter program (trimmed from 100 aircraft to 75 or less, saving $4 billion) and unapproved projects such as the navy's fourth $1.5 billion air warfare destroyer and new naval helicopters ($1 billion).