MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
22 Jan 09. US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within one year. The order fulfils a long-standing pledge of Mr Obama. At Mr Obama’s request, military judges have already suspended several of the trials of terror suspects at the Guantanamo detention centre. He has also ordered a review of the military trials and a ban of harsh interrogation techniques that many consider to amount to torture. (Source: BBC)
16 Jan 09. Stealth Frigates RSS Stalwart and RSS Supreme commissioned by the Republic of Singapore Navy. Senior representatives from DCNS today attended the commissioning ceremony of RSS Stalwart and RSS Supreme at Changi Naval Base, marking the completion of the Formidable-Class Frigate Programme for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). The ceremony, presided over by Minister of Defence Teo Chee Hean, symbolises the culmination of eight years of collaboration between DCNS, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Defence and Science Technology Agency (DSTA), and Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine). DCNS was contracted back in 2000 to build six Formidable-Class Frigates as part of the New Frigate Programme, which was outlined by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence through the Defence and Science Technology Agency (DSTA). The first Frigate, RSS Formidable was built at the DCNS shipyard in Lorient, France. The five following Frigates were built in Singapore by ST Marine under DCNS supervision.
22 Jan 09. Northrop Grumman Corporation reached a milestone today by launching the Virginia-class submarine New Mexico (SSN 779) at the company’s Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, Va.
PLANT CLOSURES, JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
17 Jan 09. BAE Systems chief opens up with jobs warning to Government
BAE Systems has warned the Government of the consequences of axing major
programmes such as Trident or the Eurofighter Typhoon. The defence industry is concerned that the Government will use big projects as an opportunity to rein in spending after pumping billions of pounds into the economy this year and next. Possible targets for cuts include the £20bn Trident nuclear deterrent replacement, the £4bn aircraft carrier project and a third tranche of Eurofighter Typhoons, which will cost about £2bn. In his first formal interview since taking over as chief executive of BAE last October, Ian King said: “We have to invest in skills and apprentices but we require medium-term stability to do so. We have said to the Government that if you cut back that will affect our decisions in the short term and that will flow through to the supply chain.” Mr King has discussed his concerns with the Prime Minister and other ministers in recent weeks as part of the Government’s wider discussions with companies on how to deal with the economic crisis. (Source: FT.com)
19 Jan 09. Denis Ranque is coming under increased pressure to step down as chief executive of Thales after Dassault Aviation becomes the defence electronics group’s core industrial shareholder in the spring. The maker of business and military jets appears to be stepping up its campaign to replace the long-serving Mr Ranque. The chief executive initially opposed Dassault’s acquisition of the 21 per cent stake in Thales in favour of a sale to institutional investors.
People close to Dassault said Mr Ranque’s departure was now being openly discussed. This marks a sharp reversal of the mood before Christmas. At that time, it appeared Mr Ranque would be left to serve out his mandate, which expires in 2010. Mr Ranque, delivering his traditional new year’s address Monday, gave a robust defence of his 11 years at the helm and showed no sign of giving in to pressure. He said the group had trebled in size since he became chief executive and was today a complex business with operations around the world. For the first time Thales scored more sales in the UK than France.
While 2008 had its difficulties, with a pr