In its first public announcement since the federal budget sequestration, Tobyhanna Army Depot unveiled $309 million of budget cuts that will result in furloughs of 5,136 civilian employees.
Facility managers and the unions are working on the details of the furlough, in which the 5,136 employees will be required to take 22 non-consecutive furlough days between late April and Sept. 30 unless the federal budget impasse in Washington, D.C., is solved.
The cut to the depot's funding amounts to 35 percent of its total operating budget. "Everyone is concerned," said depot spokeswoman Jacqueline Boucher. "But everyone is resolved to continue to support the war fighter."
Just about everyone is affected, as well. While there are some exemptions to sequestration, it will hit nearly all civilian employees, up to Deputy Commander Frank Zardecki, the top civilian at the depot, Ms. Boucher said.
The depot is the U.S. military's primary facility for the repair and maintenance of communications and electronics equipment. It is also an economic cornerstone of Northeast Pennsylvania.
Sequestration has already had an impact, as the depot on Friday accepted early retirement of 150 employees under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment programs. Under a hiring freeze, the depot will not fill those positions. The depot has also restricted the purchase of supplies, limited travel, and put off plans to modernize or upgrade depot facilities and equipment.
In Monroe County, the depot is a major component of the region's economy, ranking as one of the largest employers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Pike county residents, most of which are skilled and better paid than average area workers.
Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, said the announcement is not only bad news for the families involved, but for the communities in which they live.
"These families are living in a time when prices of the basic necessities have climbed and now they are hit with a large loss of income," she said. "Beyond those households, this will have a ripple effect - direct and induced economic impacts - as people making less spend less on everything from retail, to services and entertainment."
The depot is awaiting further guidance, said Ms. Boucher.
U.S. Senator Bob Casey said the indiscriminate cuts the sequester forced on an essential military support facility don't make sense.
Meanwhile, Chuck Leonard, executive director of the Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corporation, is waiting to see how bad the cuts in payroll and purchasing impact the region's economy.
"It seems crazy we are in this situation," Mr. Leonard said. "I hope it doesn't last and that there is some sort of resolution."
In an address last week, Depot Commander Col. Gerhard P.R. Schröter asked depot employees to remains focused. "I know this issue has been weighing on all of us," he said. "Our warfighters continue to rely on Tobyhanna and they deserve our finest efforts everyday."
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com