WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- As the United States withdraws its troops from Iraq, it also warned a civilian contractor to reduce workforce in the country or face penalties, said a report on Monday.
Quoting the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the USA Today report said that the Pentagon has warned the Houston-based contractor company, KBR (NYSE:KBR) , to reduce its employees in Iraq or face a fine of nearly 200 million U.S. dollars for keeping thousands of people on its payroll there.
The warning was issued as the United States steadily brings home its troops after more than six years of the Iraq war. According to the agreement reached by two governments, all American troops will leave the country by the end of 2011.
However, the U.S. government is, on the contrary, paying for more in labor costs in Iraq despite a strategy to shift resources and focus to the Afghanistan war, said the report.
"Each day that passes without taking action results in continued overstaffing and inefficiency," said the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
KBR, as the report said, has been a primary support contractor to the U.S. Army in Iraq, which is providing logistics including mail, laundry, housing and meals, under a 10-year deal totaling 33.8 billion US dollars.
