ALBANY — Officials with the Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany confirmed Friday that 67 contractors affiliated with the Maintenance Center have been laid off after expected work levels failed to materialize.

As many as 300 could be laid off altogether, although officials with Aecom, the military contractor who employs the workers, are desperately searching for additional work to keep the number as low as possible, MCLB Public Affairs Officer 1st Lt. Caleb Eames said.

“We care very much about our employees and contractors, but the work just isn’t there,” he said.

Earlier this year, Aecom expected to receive a large amount of equipment from Iraq in need of repair and bolstered its numbers to deal with the anticipated increase in work, but so far that has failed to happen.

Eames said that should additional work be found, Aecom will likely be able to limit or avoid additional layoffs.
The workers who were cut were not federally employed personnel known as civilian Marines, Eames said, but contractors who frequently work on a temporary basis.

Eames said that while the shift in the fronts of war on terror from Iraq to Afghanistan likely played a role in the slowdown for the need for repaired vehicles, it’s not likely the chief cause.