The Navy has announced that nearly 6,000 military and civilian jobs will be opened to commercial competition under its fiscal 2000 outsourcing plan.
"As the [Navy] seeks ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness, reduce the overall cost of operations and improve business processes, we are fully exploring opportunities for competition initiatives," Jerry MacArthur Hultin, the undersecretary of the Navy, wrote in a July 17 letter to Congress.
Agencies must notify lawmakers if they are considering outsourcing more than 50 of the same jobs. The Navy listed any reviews affecting more than 10 positions.
The Navy will review a total 5,956 jobs for outsourcing- 5,498 civilian positions and 458 military jobs. Most of the jobs are either administrative support or logistics support positions.
The outsourcing reviews will follow federal guidelines outlined in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76. Those rules require a competition between federal employees and a contractor before most work is privatized, with the jobs going to the lowest bidder.
The Navy estimates the reviews will cost about $2,000 for every position studied, or about $12 million in fiscal 2000. The reviews will last one to three years depending upon the types of jobs being examined.
The Navy's A-76 studies are part of a larger Defense Department effort to open more than 200,000 jobs to commercial competition by 2005 for about $11 billion in savings. The Navy alone ultimately plans to consider outsourcing more than 50,000 jobs and hopes to generate several billion dollars of savings in the process.
"Conversion to commercial contracts will occur only if the cost comparison process reveals that contracting is the most cost effective method of performing the function," Hultin told lawmakers.
The list provided to Congress breaks down the jobs by state and facility. The top states are:
- California, with 1,431 positions, including more than 200 each at the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center-San Diego and the Naval Air Depot-North Island.
- Washington, with 855 positions, including more than 300 at the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center-Puget Sound.
- Florida, with 822 positions, including 200 at the Naval Air Depot-Jacksonville.
- Virginia, with 816 positions, including more than 250 at the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center-Norfolk.
The complete list can be found at http://help.n4.hq.navy.mil/temp16.cfm .
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