OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Wisconsin lawmaker is questioning Oshkosh Defense’s decision to manufacture new USPS mail trucks in South Carolina, instead of in Wisconsin.
Earlier this year, Oshkosh Defense was awarded a Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) contract by the U.S. Postal Service. The Wisconsin manufacturer then announced it would build the new delivery vehicles in Spartanburg, South Carolina, expecting to hire over 1,000 employees there.
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) sent a letter to Oshkosh Corporation leaders, reading in part:
Oshkosh Defense has a long and proud history of manufacturing military vehicles in Wisconsin with skilled union labor. However, we are concerned about your recent decision to manufacture the trucks in a newly acquired facility, with new hires, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. We urge you to further scrutinize the final production location based on the strength of Oshkosh’s existing workforce. Oshkosh has a longstanding and skilled workforce in Wisconsin, with robust experience in manufacturing trucks for government service. As such, we are writing to better understand the process that led to the award of the contract and the decision to produce the NGDV at a new facility in South Carolina.
A challenge has been filed against Oshkosh Defense’s contract by Ohio company, Workhorse Group, which didn’t win the contract.
