March 28, 2024

US Tech Job Cuts Continuing Into 2023

Tech Jobs

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Job cuts in the US tech sector seen last year are spilling into 2023, reports ITWeb.

Google said Friday it is laying off 12,000 workers, reports CBS News, becoming the latest technology company to trim staff after expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic have worn off. Capital One eliminated more than 1,100 technology positions last week as the credit card firm eliminates its “agile” job family, reports Finextra. Microsoft said it will axe 10,000 positions in latest US tech jobs cuts, reports Yahoo! Entertainment.

For new tech jobs, maybe consider the US Office of Personnel Management, reports CNET on MSN. The government agency is expanding efforts to attract tech talent to the federal workforce amid continuing layoffs at companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta.

An Interior Department’s inspector general January 2023 probe found that DOI passwords were easily cracked, that there was a lack of multifactor authentication, and that other failures were putting the department’s critical systems at risk. The IG initiated the inspection because it was able to crack between 20% and 40% of the passwords captured during past projects, according to the report.

House Republicans have introduced the Show Up Act, a new bill that would force the return of many federal workers to in-person office spaces, reports Fox5 News. An Office of Personnel Management survey of 500,000 federal workers found that 25% were teleworking three days a week.

Politico reports that at her swearing-in this month, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser had a message for President Joe Biden: Get federal workers back in their DC offices. “We need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings for use by the local government, by nonprofits, by businesses, and by any user willing to revitalize it,” according to inauguration remarks as delivered Jan. 2, 2023.

The US House has established a special committee on China, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will lead the bipartisan panel, reports C4ISRNET. Gallagher has laid out an agenda for the China committee that includes several key defense priorities. The 16-member committee will consist of nine Republicans and seven Democrats.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has made a direct appeal for tanks, reports the BBC. But as the United States is preparing its next military package for Ukraine, the aid is expected to include Stryker vehicles, but no tanks, reports Politico. US military officials argued the Abrams M1 has substantial maintenance and fuel needs that would make it too difficult for Ukraine to operate, reports Defense News.

The USS Nimitz and its strike group has arrived in the South China Sea, reports Navy Times, for the first time since deploying in December. The aircraft carrier is carrying out maritime strike training, anti-submarine operations, integrated multi-domain and joint training between surface and air elements, and flight operations.

 

 

The Navy relieved the commanding officers of two of its East Coast ships — USS Carney and USS Mesa Verde — citing loss of confidence in their abilities to command, reports Marine Link. Carney commander Alexa Jenkins and Mesa Verde CO Michael D. Nordeen have received new assignments.

A Navy Arleigh Burke destroyer will be named after a Medal of Honor recipient from Massachusetts, reports Fox News. Retired CAPT Thomas Gunning Kelley was wounded but continued to direct sailors who repelled an enemy attack in Vietnam.

A US Navy T-6B Texan II with Training Air Wing 5 at Barin Naval Outlying Field in Alabama crashed last week in a remote, unpopulated area, reports Navy Times. The Navy instructor pilot and a student aviator ejected from the turboprop trainer aircraft. They were treated for minor injuries.

The US Air Force reported a real-world overseas save for the HH-60W Jolly Green II since it was declared combat-ready late last year. The service’s new search-and-rescue helicopter crew saved the lives of two foreign troops on a December rescue mission in the Horn of Africa, reports Air Force Times.

SpaceX and NASA are targeting February 26 for Crew-6 astronaut launch to the International Space Station, reports Space.com. NASA provides live updates from the ISS here.

The Air Force is stressing the importance of motorcycle safety amid a spike in road deaths, reports Air Force Times. Air Force Safety Center data shows that seven airmen have died while riding motorcycles between October 28, 2022, and January 5, 2023, including four since December 15, 2022.

The Maryland Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives honored the Naval Academy Midshipman Action Group for 30 years of service to communities around the state, reports WBOC CBS affiliate. “The volunteerism of the Midshipman Action Group has grown to encompass such a robust and responsive cadre of midshipmen who care very deeply about our communities at large,” said COL James P. McDonough, commandant of midshipmen. “The midshipmen also give freely of their limited liberty time in order to work with community partners and impact positive change throughout our many diverse communities.” Since 1992, MAG has partnered with organizations in the Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, areas to promote service projects.

Midshipman 1st Class Kara Kniezewski, 22, presented her research of solar flare rain earlier this month at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society, according to a Naval Academy news release. Kniezewski, with assistance from Dr. Emily Mason, a solar physicist, carried out statistical analysis of rain that forms as the byproduct of a solar flare. Their research was conducted at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to determine the frequency and duration of post-flare rain and how the energy of a flare impacts the rain observed.

Prior to 1960, no US president had ever served in the Navy. Over the next 30 years (1960 to 1992), six of the next seven presidents were Navy veterans. The Boonville Daily News provides this tidbit of presidential history.

More than 7,500 graduates, parents, families, foundations, and corporations contributed funds last year through the Air Force Academy Foundation — to the tune of $51.7 million — bolstering the total investment in the Defining Our Future campaign to $248.26 million, reports Military.com.

Contracts:

Tapestry Solutions Inc., San Diego, California, has been awarded an $8,376,510 contract modification (P00002) to previously awarded contract FA2860-22-C-0011 for executive airlift flight dispatch services. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2027. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $41,977,632. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,776,947 are being obligated at the time of modification. The 316th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $39,092,259 contract modification (P00155) to previously awarded contract FA8823-20-C-0004 for Maintenance of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) sustainment services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $582,538,259. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Dahlgren, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $29,303,751 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space Systems Center Directorate of Contracting, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity.

Howard University, Washington, DC, will be awarded a $90,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for research and development. The contract will establish a Historically Black Colleges and Universities-led University Affiliated Research Center consortium to execute research focused on tactical autonomy that will aid in the transition of research into practical applications. Work will be performed at the awardee’s facility and consortium members’ campuses and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2028. This award is the result of a publicly posted broad agency announcement and four offers were received. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders placed against the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Fiscal 2023 research and development funds in the total amount of $2,967,271 are being obligated at time of award with the first task order. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA9550-23-D-0001).

Argon ST Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $463,023,379 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract procures various Multi-Intelligence Sensor Development Sensor Suite production unit components for fielding in various manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as associated engineering support for the Navy, Foreign Cooperative Partners and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia (75%); and Germantown, Maryland (25%), and is expected to be completed in January 2028. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001923D0008).

Prism Maritime LLC, Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $250,803,495 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-type of contract providing technical and engineering support services for the Alteration Installation Team. These services include installation, modification and upgrade for various combat systems of Navy Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $250,803,495. Work will be performed at shore sites, land based test facilities, shipyards, and aboard ships in port or at sea for the Navy, Coast Guard, and Foreign Military Sales locations, which will be specified within the individual technical instructions or delivery/task orders when issued. If all options are exercised, work will continue through October 2027. Fiscal 2023 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated at time of award and does not expire at the end of this fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, as a small business set-aside, via the System for Award Management website, with three offers received. NSWC PHD, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N63394-23-C-0004).

Agile-Bot II LLC, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $14,595,470 modification to exercise Option Two to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N66001-21-C-0043) for advanced cyber support services in support of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) are being used to incrementally fund this award. The contract included a one-year base period and four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the value of this contract to $72,996,224. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $1,500,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia. The option’s period of performance is from January 2023 through January 2024. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through January 2026. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-18-R-0011 and was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific e-Commerce Central website. Five offers were received and one was selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 12, 2023)

Federal Prison Industries, doing business as UNICOR, Washington DC, has been awarded a maximum $99,160,500 firm‐fixed‐price, indefinite‐delivery/indefinite‐quantity contract for the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment rucksack set. This is a three‐year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and South Carolina, with a Jan. 19, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2023 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1‐23‐D‐F004).

VersAbility Resources Inc. Hampton, Virginia, was awarded a ceiling of $140,719,079 nationwide firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery contract for official mail center and postal service center support services. This contract provides official mail and postal support services at Air Force installations and mission support center approved bases. Work will be performed at continental Air Force installations and is expected to be complete by Jan. 17, 2033. This contract was a sole source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at time of award, but appropriate operations and maintenance fiscal year funding will be obligated at the task order level. The 763d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (FA4452-23-D0005). (Awarded Jan. 19, 2022)

UPDATE: Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE2DE-23-D-0014, $49,000,000) has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for medical and surgical supplies for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronics Catalog, issued against solicitation SPE2DE-18-R-0001 and awarded May 10, 2019.

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