Layoffs stun workers at Fort Greely

Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - More than 100 civilian contract workers at Fort Greely lost their jobs Friday in a round of layoffs that many workers said caught them by surprise.

Victor Maxwell, a 44-year-old heavy-truck driver from Delta Junction, said he heard rumors of lay-offs before Friday but had no official notice until then.

"We were all completely dumbfounded," he said Tuesday.

The workers were employed by Chugach Alutiiq, a joint venture of two Alaska Native companies that is one of Fort Greely's two major contractors.

According to Fort Greely public affairs officer Leslie Ozawa, the garrison was recently directed to "restrict spending on noncritical activities."

Nearly 50 Chugach Alutiiq workers were laid off last month.

Last week, the company informed the Department of Labor and Workforce Development that it was laying off 102 additional workers, according to agency representative Joyce Harris.

The chief executive of Chugach Alaska Corp., Barney Uhart, did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

At a Department of Labor workshop held Tuesday in Delta for the laid-off workers, former employees said the job cuts happened with almost no notice.

Bruce Grossmann, who worked as the education counselor on Fort Greely, said he was told at 1:15 p.m. Friday to attend a meeting at 1:30. At that meeting, he was laid off and told to turn in his keys and badge.

"It was very short notice," he said. "It was 15 minutes for some of us."

[more- Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]