THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150376
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Officials at the Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot, preparing for the day they hoped somehow to avoid, are scheduled to tell the facility's remaining employees today that in four more months they will no longer have jobs.
The notice is a preamble to the 80-year-old depot's final chapter, which will come Sept. 28 when it closes its last hangar doors.
Ordered shut down by the 1993 base closure commission, the NADEP will formally issue its one-and-only reduction in force notice. Successful retirement incentives and other Pentagon placement programs have prevented other RIF notices, according to officials.
Approximately 900 of the remaining 1,130 employees will be officially told today that their jobs will no longer exist after Sept. 28, when all Norfolk NADEP employees must be off government rolls. The other 230 employees have accepted a separation incentive to retire or resign.
Among the 900 are 130 people who have jobs at other commands but have not yet moved. Officials said they hope the remaining 770 will get jobs between now and September.
``We have been very successful in placing our employees in the local area, or outside,'' said Brice Maccubbin, public affairs spokesman for the command.
``We are hopeful that will continue to happen.''
The NADEP in Norfolk, once among the area's largest employers, had 4,300 civil service workers in 1993 when the Base Closure and Realignment Commission named it to the base closing list. It was the largest blow to Hampton Roads of all the base-closing actions taken by Congress over the past eight years.
The aircraft plant is still working primarily on Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters in an upgrade program. That work will be transferred to the NADEP in Jacksonville, Fla.
Since 1993, more than 3,100 individuals have left the command, previously located in 90 buildings at Norfolk Naval Air Station. They have been offered retirement, transfer of work and other separation incentives.
Like the 900 included in today's RIF order, they also have been placed in the Defense Department's Priority Placement Program, allowing them to be considered for employment in other federal government agencies when positions become available.
Throughout the closure process, Maccubbin said, a Transition Assistance Center has helped employees locate job opportunities, write resumes and fill out job applications. The center also put into place such programs as the Accelerated Career Transition Education Program with Old Dominion University and the Job Partnership Assistance Program. All these services and programs will continue until closure.
The Norfolk NADEP, previously called the Naval Air Rework Facility, was the Navy's premier repair facility for F-14s and A-6 Intruder medium attack bombers. It also has provided engineering, manufacturing, field technical assistance and other support to satisfy fleet readiness, mission and safety requirements of the U.S. military worldwide, Maccubbin said. by CNB