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FRPT- FORCE PROTECTION --> 1.92
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jo4321: [QB] Force Protection cuts work force, plans N.C. move. 03:39 a.m. 05/30/2008 Provided by May 30, 2008 (The State - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Force Protection has cut its S.C. work force as the company tries to overcome financial problems. The Ladson-based company has trimmed its number of employees to 1,540 from a peak of about 2,000 late last year, chief executive officer Michael Moody said Thursday. In addition, the company is moving part of its operation from Summerville to Roxboro, N.C., where it bought a former automotive plant in 2007, Moody said. The number of employees affected has not been determined, said Tommy Pruitt, the company's spokesman. Both changes are part of an overall evaluation of Force Protection's operations. It comes on the heels of a tumultuous year. Force Protection rose out of obscurity in 2005 when the Pentagon needed a vehicle that could protect troops from roadside bomb blasts in Iraq. The company's vehicles with their V-shaped hulls and thick armor were the answer, and its stock peaked at nearly $30 a share. Now, the company has lost part of its military business to larger competitors, undergone a management shake-up, witnessed a sharp decline in its stock value, and failed to file any financial statements with the Securities Exchange Commission since last fall. Nasdaq has threatened to delist Force Protection. Moody, named CEO in March, announced the changes Thursday during a conference call with investors. Moody offered a modified financial report but said the company still was not ready to release its 2007 annual report or a first quarter report for 2008. No timetable has been set, he said. The company's first quarter revenues were $400 million, but half will be paid to General Dynamics, which manufactures vehicles through a partnership with Force Protection, Moody said. In 2007, the company's revenue was $100.2 million. Moody said the defense contractor has a $410 million backlog of orders that will carry it through the rest of the year. And the company has about $70 million cash. Force Protection had increased its labor force in 2007 by hiring temporary and contract employees for its production lines, Pruitt said. The company, which had been criticized for delays in completing Pentagon orders, needed extra workers. Force Protection has achieved most of its reductions by cutting those contract and temporary employees, Pruitt said. A few management positions have been eliminated through attrition, he said. The defense contractor has reconfigured its production lines at the Ladson plant. It will move its engineers and design team to Summerville from Ladson to join the research and development unit, Moody said. The corporate headquarters will be relocated somewhere in the Charleston area. A blast test site in Edgefield will remain. Force Protection also hired another company to manage its spare parts warehouse at another location near Charleston. As for the move to North Carolina, Force Protection finally will be using a facility it bought in 2007 in anticipation of winning a large military contract to build its Cheetah line of vehicles. However, that order was never placed and the company has been sitting on a vacant site. In Roxboro, Force Protection will teach soldiers how to operate its Cougar and Buffalo models. Company employees sent overseas to work on vehicles also will be trained there, Pruitt said. All moves will be complete by the end of 2008, Pruitt said. Force Protection shares rose 10 cents Thursday to $3.80. Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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