ARSENAL MAY CUT MORE JOBS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993                   TAG: 9301100120
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Short
ARSENAL MAY CUT MORE JOBS
The Radford Army Ammunition Plant - scheduled to lay off 730 workers on Jan. 20 - may be forced to cut another 350 jobs before the end of the year.
Col. Bill Forrester, the arsenal's commander, said the Army has told him that one of the plant's propellant lines will not be funded in fiscal year 1993. "We haven't been notified officially, but we did receive a phone call," he said.
Though the full impact of the funding cut isn't known, it could mean an additional 300 to 350 layoffs, he said.
Nicole Kinser, public affairs officer for the arsenal, said Hercules Inc., the government contractor that runs the plant, will study the situation and decide what action to take after receiving written notification from the Army.
"It's premature at this point for me to speculate" on when additional layoffs might happen, she said.
With the Cold War over, the Radford arsenal has seen its orders decrease steadily in the past few years.
To cut costs, Hercules will eliminate 730 jobs on Jan. 20, bringing the number of workers laid off since January 1991 to more than 1,300.
The arsenal will have about 2,000 employees after the January job cuts, its lowest number since just after the Vietnam War.
Last year, Hercules announced plans to pursue commercial contracts at the arsenal, hoping to stabilize and possibly increase employment levels.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB