Defense contractors, high-tech firms, and manufacturing plants are bracing for thousands of potential layoffs across New England resulting from the Obama administration's plans to cancel or delay key weapons programs, according to company officials, union representatives, and members of Congress.
A metal works plant in North Grafton, Mass., that shapes titanium for use in the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet stands to lose as much as one-fifth of its workforce if production is halted, while more than 2,000 jobs could be lost at divisions of United Technologies in Connecticut that build the jet's engine and electrical power systems, officials say.
More than 2,000 employees at Raytheon Co. facilities in Tewksbury, Andover, and Portsmouth, R.I., are working on the combat and radar systems for the Navy's Zumwalt class destroyer, another program widely expected to be cut. Many workers could lose their jobs or be transferred out of the area if construction of the warship is halted, according to the officials.
And firms large and small - including General Dynamics in Taunton and iRobot in Bedford - are keeping a close eye on the fate of the Army's set of next-generation ground combat vehicles, which rely on a host of computer systems and communications developed in the Bay State, but are also on the chopping block.
A metal works plant in North Grafton, Mass., that shapes titanium for use in the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet stands to lose as much as one-fifth of its workforce if production is halted, while more than 2,000 jobs could be lost at divisions of United Technologies in Connecticut that build the jet's engine and electrical power systems, officials say.
More than 2,000 employees at Raytheon Co. facilities in Tewksbury, Andover, and Portsmouth, R.I., are working on the combat and radar systems for the Navy's Zumwalt class destroyer, another program widely expected to be cut. Many workers could lose their jobs or be transferred out of the area if construction of the warship is halted, according to the officials.
And firms large and small - including General Dynamics in Taunton and iRobot in Bedford - are keeping a close eye on the fate of the Army's set of next-generation ground combat vehicles, which rely on a host of computer systems and communications developed in the Bay State, but are also on the chopping block.
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