DLA to Manage Competition

DLA to Manage Competition

April 22, 1997
THE DAILY FED

DLA to Manage Competition

The Defense Logistics Agency is slated to open its depot work to competition from private companies, forcing most of its 14,400 depot employees to prove they can do the work better than outsiders can, Federal Times reported this week.

Of the 24 distribution depots the agency runs, 17 will compete with private companies to continue processing the millions of equipment orders military facilities send to the depots each year. Five others are slated to close and the remaining two have been deemed essential to national security and will not be opened to competition.

DLA predicts that some depots are efficient enough to keep doing the work. Others are likely to lose in competition with private companies. Federal union officials said they are confident they will be able to show that federal employees can do the depot work best.

In another streamlining effort, DLA will consolidate its headquarters by closing two distribution sites and eliminating 850 jobs. The consolidated Defense Distribution Center will be located in either the present Defense Distribution Region West in Stockton, Calif., Defense Distribution East in New Cumberland, Pa., or the agency headquarters in Fort Belvoir, Va.