Grumman Deal Aside, Defense Is Waning NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition

Second, the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989 and the Soviet Union itself in 1991 has eliminated the only military superpower threatening the security of the United States. Although many nations in the world do not wish the United States well, none has the might of the Soviet Union. At the apex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNewsday
Main Author By Lawrence Korb. Lawrence Korb, a Brookings
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Long Island, N.Y Newsday LLC 19.04.1994
EditionCombined editions
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Summary:Second, the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989 and the Soviet Union itself in 1991 has eliminated the only military superpower threatening the security of the United States. Although many nations in the world do not wish the United States well, none has the might of the Soviet Union. At the apex of its power, the Soviet Union possessed 50,000 tanks, 10,000 planes and 1,000 ships backed by 30,000 nuclear weapons. Although Grumman's shareholders received a hefty bonus (about $22 a share) from the acquisition, the reality is that we are "reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic" for those working in defense. Since 1987, Northrop has trimmed its work force by nearly 40 percent, and about two weeks before the Grumman acquisition it announced plans to cut its work force by 10 percent more this year. During the same period, Grumman has eliminated more than 60 percent of its Long Island work force, and will continue to downsize even after the merger.