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Air Force One supplier laying off 223 after losing Boeing contract

Lawsuit by Boeing says Texas-based GDC Technics well behind schedule; GDC countersues

GDC Technics said it was cutting 223 jobs in Fort Worth and San Antonio after losing a contract with Boeing on Air Force One. (Photo: GDC Technics)

GDC Technics is cutting 223 jobs in San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas, after the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) recently sued the company for being behind schedule on two Air Force One aircraft.

Brad Forman, CEO of GDC Technics, said the company is permanently closing its San Antonio plant where most of the work on Air Force One was done. 

“It is anticipated that most operations at the Fort Worth facility will cease and that the San Antonio facility will close due to the sudden and unexpected termination of a client contract,” Forman wrote in a Monday filing with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Forman said all layoffs will be finalized by May 9 and are expected to be permanent.


The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to convert two Boeing 747-8 planes into presidential jets. The planes were to be delivered by December 2024.

Boeing hired GDC Technics for work on the two aircraft and other executive planes used to carry government officials. GDC Technics’ contract called for the company to design and build the interior of the two Air Force One planes. 

On April 7, Boeing filed a lawsuit against GDC alleging that the company had failed to complete interior work on the two planes and is “roughly one year behind schedule in meeting its contractual obligations,” according to court filings.

On April 17, GDC Technics countersued, alleging that Boeing’s mismanagement caused the delays in the construction schedule of the Air Force One planes.


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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact [email protected]