HUNTSVILLE — While President Trump has called for large-scale job cuts in the federal workforce led by the Department of Government Efficiency, Mayor Tommy Battle said Huntsville hasn’t seen evidence of widespread cuts.
“We always work on Plan B’s, if this comes through, if that comes through. But right now we’re not seeing the evidence of that,” said Battle. “Everybody else is talking about it. And, it’s mainly the national media who’s talking about it.”
Huntsville, nicknamed “Pentagon of the South,” is home to a large concentration of federal employees in defense, technology, and aerospace.
Redstone Arsenal, which houses several key agencies including NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the FBI, the Army Materiel Command, Army Aviation and Missile Command, and the Missile Defense Agency, plays a crucial role in the local economy.
Battle said so far local officials aren’t seeing large-scale workforce reductions in North Alabama.
“We have had no definitive letters,” he said. “We have had no definitive people coming in saying, ‘hey, all these people are gone.’ And so I think at this point it is a time to watch, to see.”
Meanwhile, Battle also said the city has not been notified of any cuts to the $270 million in grants for Huntsville projects, including the Skybridge above Memorial Parkway.
“A lot of this has already been awarded,” said Battle.
But there are still questions to be answered.
“’Is it ready to go?’ ‘Is it moving forward?’ ‘Do we have signed contracts on it?’ All those are the kind of questions that have to be answered on a day-to-day basis from what we’re seeing,” said Battle.
“We’re not seeing things that we have to say, ‘hey, we see big cuts in the future.’ No.”
As city officials continue to monitor developments in Washington, Battle remains confident and said the best thing to do is be prepared.
“Get your Plan Bs,” he said. “Have at least a Plan B if something does happen so that you can make sure that you take care of the people that you’re supposed to take care of and that’s the people in the city of Huntsville and North Alabama.”
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