PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Less than a week after the Sequester took effect, the Program Executive Officer for Ammunition held the first Town Hall meeting March 5 for the PEO community.
The meeting, headed by Brig. Gen. John J. McGuiness, was the fourth Town Hall-style gathering held at the Arsenal since the start of 2013.
"We're trying to get as much information as we can out to you, to alleviate as much as we can, because there is going to be a lot of anxiety out there," said McGuiness referring to the furloughs that could take effect in April for the civilian workforce.
"There's going to be a lot of stress and we have to take care of each other."
"We're going to keep the post and the PEO open five days a week," he added.
The current plan will have half of the employees furloughed on Monday and the other half on Friday.
This proposed schedule is consistent with the other major tenants at the Arsenal.
One area that won't be compromised is safety.
"I don't want anyone rushing through their procedures to get work done due to furloughs," the general said.
Though the possibility of furloughs may have weighed heaviest on the audience, the meeting disseminated a wide range of information.
There were 96 initiatives across all "better buying power" focus areas, resulting in more than $5 billion in savings and cost avoidance.
The focus areas included targeting affordability and controlling cost growth; incentivizing productivity and innovation in industry; promoting real competition; reducing non-productive processes and bureaucracy; and improving acquisition of services.
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