On the same July day that Lockheed Martin Corp. chief executive Robert J. Stevens warned the House Armed Services Committee about the dangers of imminent across-the-board cuts in the Pentagon budget, he amplified the point in a letter to his workforce, warning that the company might let 10,000 employees go if the spending sequester takes effect/.../
Although many specifics about the sequester remain fuzzy, it’s clear that major defense programs — particularly ones like Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive program in Pentagon history — wouldn’t feel the budgetary pinch until well into the new year/.../ Todd Harrison, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), estimates it may be years before Lockheed Martin feels the full effects of the automatic cuts. “They’ve got so much money already obligated and put on contract,” Harrison says. “That money is going to continue to be spent at the same rate it was planned to be spent.”