Long Island defense firms sound alarm as shutdown drags on
John Spiezio, board chair of ADDAPT, stands beneath a Navy Blue Angels jet at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale. He says Long Island’s $4 billion defense industry faces mounting risks as the federal shutdown drags on, warning that lost contracts and stalled payments could push some contractors to the brink. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Long Island’s defense contractors have so far mitigated the worst effects of the federal government shutdown but won’t be able to do so for much longer.
The manufacturers, who number about 125 and employ 12,000 people as a group, supply parts for submarines, fighter jets, tanks and other military equipment, according to the Uniondale-based trade group Aerospace & Defense Diversification Alliance in Peacetime Transition or ADDAPT.
Negotiations to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history gained momentum Sunday night after Democrats in the Senate agreed to join their Republican colleagues in backing legislation that would fund many federal agencies through January.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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