400 workers to be laid off at Indiana Humvee plant
AM General says it plans to lay off 400 employees at its military assembly plant in northern Indiana beginning Jan. 1.
Company spokesman Jeff Adams tells the South Bend Tribune that the layoffs announced Dec. 13 will last until March.
Adams says such temporary layoffs may become more common in the future. He says the company had hoped to have a new international contract ready for 2013, but it has been delayed.
Workers at the Mishawaka plant that makes Humvees for the military had returned to work Nov. 26 following a layoff of nearly two months. AP
Settlement reached in Kansas contamination cleanup
Salina, Kansas, officials and the federal government reached a financial settlement to cover another step in cleaning up contaminated groundwater and soil at a former Air Force base.
Officials announced Dec. 13 that the federal government will pay 90 percent of an estimated $9.3 million needed to investigate the contamination, prepare a feasibility study and agree to a final plan for cleaning up the industrial solvent TCE at the former Schilling Air Force Base. The city of Salina will pay the remaining 10 percent.
KSAL reports the federal share is about $8.4 million and the local share is $936,000.
The deal must be approved by the Salina City Commission, the Salina School District, the Salina Airport Authority and Kansas State University, as well as the U.S. District Court and Justice Department. AP
Iran warns Turkey over NATO’s missile system
A top Iranian military commander has warned Turkey against stationing NATO anti-missile systems on its territory, saying such a move risks war with Syria.
Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, who is army chief of staff, is urging Turkey, U.S. and Europeans to dismantle the Patriot missile defense system before a war breaks out. He says the system was stationed in Turkey to protect Israel from Iranian missiles attacks and inhibit Russian defense of Syria.
Firouzabadi’s remarks were reported by state TV Dec. 15.
Dec. 14, the Pentagon announced it will send two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a larger NATO force to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attacks. AP
