Not since the historical drop-off in defense spending after the Cold War has the industry experienced this kind of workforce uncertainty, according to AVIATION WEEK Business Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan, in an article detailing responses from A&D companies employing more than half a million employees -- approximately 82 percent of the industry's workforce. According to the 2009 Workforce Study, and data from the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), findings suggest that "United States A&D companies had cut about 30,000 jobs as of June 1, or just 4.5 percent of the total workforce," according to Unnikrishnan. "The layoffs will almost certainly continue into 2010, [but] total job losses during this downturn might be limited to 10 percent of the A&D workforce -- far below the 40 percent eliminated in 1990-96 as the end of the Cold War ... The industry is being much more strategic in reducing the workforce."

The right strategies are needed at this time to smartly adjust the industry's workforce for the future, according to Lee Palmer, Hitachi Consulting Aerospace and Defense Industry National Leader.