By Debbie Gregory.

Since 2001, California has lost more jobs to China than any other state. Approximately 562,500 of the state’s jobs, a 3.34% share of California’s 16.8 million jobs in 2017, were outsourced.

The main losses are due to technical outsourcing by Northern Californian Silicon Valley companies, as well as Southern California’s apparel industry.

According to a recently released report entitled “The China Toll Deepens,” the trade deficit in the computer and electronic parts industry grew the most.

This comes as President Trump’s trade war with China continues to escalate, with the administration imposing $250 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods.

The report, coauthored by Economist Robert Scott and Research Assistant Zane Mokhiber states that the growth of the U.S. trade deficit with China, which has increased by more than $100 billion since the beginning of the Great Recession, almost entirely explains why manufacturing employment has not fully recovered along with the rest of the economy. And the growing trade deficit with China isn’t just a post-recession phenomenon hitting manufacturing: it has cost the U.S. millions of jobs throughout the economy since China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, a finding validated by numerous studies.

Scott said that Republican-supported tax cuts and spending increases will turbocharge the U.S. budget deficit with “a sugar-high that pushes up interest rates, attracting capital from abroad and strengthening the dollar.” He added, “Hitting China with 25% tariffs is not the solution.”

Los Angeles economist Sung Won Sohn said that even as much of California’s computer and electronics hardware manufacturing moved to Asia, “a lot of software jobs were created in Silicon Valley, and a lot of the hardware we import from China and Korea uses software manufactured in the U.S.”

Sohn cautioned that the numbers in the institute report may be “overstated,” but he added, “the conclusions are correct: We are losing jobs as a result of the huge trade deficit, and I blame much of it on unfair trade practices by China.”

After California, the states with the highest losses were Texas (314,000) New York (183,500), Illinois (148,200) and Pennsylvania (136,100).

By Debbie Gregory.

The biggest cloud companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and Oracle, had all been jockeying for bidding position for the winner-take-all Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract. IMB proactively filed a pre-award bid protest with the Government Accountability Office just days before final bids for the lucrative but controversial contract were due.

The contract was ultimately awarded to Microsoft Azure. Oracle Corp had also filed a protest against the Pentagon’s “winner-take-all” cloud computing contract, citing that it restricts the field of competition.

Defense Department officials said in early March that the $10 billion, 10-year contract would be bid out to a single cloud provider, arguing that using more than one provider would add needless complexity.

“We’ve never built an enterprise cloud,” said Dana Deasy, the Pentagon chief information officer overseeing the process. “Starting with a number of firms while at the same time trying to build out an enterprise capability just simply did not make sense.”

“Throughout the year-long JEDI saga, countless concerns have been raised that this solicitation is aimed at a specific vendor,” said Sam Gordy, general manager of IBM U.S. Federal. “At no point have steps been taken to alleviate those concerns.”

The Jedi project involves moving massive amounts of Defense Department data to a commercially operated cloud system. The JEDI cloud is expected to absorb some of the Pentagon’s existing efforts and is considered a “pathfinder” that the Defense Department will build upon for decades.

During this process, at least nine companies had coordinated their opposition in Washington to the government awarding the contract to a single provider.

The latest legal action follows a months-long coordinated lobbying campaign in Washington from IBM and other tech companies to encourage the Defense Department to change its procurement strategy. Whether it will work remains to be seen.

By Debbie Gregory.

So you’ve decided to take the big plunge and launch your business. Congratulations!  But if you can’t afford to have the office of your dreams in the prime location that you want, here are some alternatives.

Your local coffee shop may not be the ideal place to start your business, but at some locations you don’t even have to be a customer to reap the benefits. If your team consists of you, this may be an ideal temporary, short term option.

Working from home is the next best option. But in order to be successful here, you should delegate a space that is yours for you to work on your business, be it a dedicated room, space in the basement, the garage, or even a large closet.

Co-working spaces and shared office spaces offer flexibility, as well as the opportunity to collaborate. Incubators are all the rage for start-ups these days, and can be beneficial on many levels. A shared office space where two or three start-ups can work side by side does not only help in cost cutting. The businesses can learn a lot from each other. There are several places that sublet their conference rooms, projectors, and other office amenities to small businesses at an hourly or daily basis. You can book a hall for a day and hold your weekly or monthly meeting with your team members or prospective clients. It is a win/win situation at a very reasonable bargain.

If you identify a space that you think would work for you but it’s too much for you to take up on your own, you can turn it into a co-working space. Try to identify spaces that have sat vacant for an amount of time. The owner may be more flexible with you in an attempt to get it rented. Be sure that you are in a financial position to cover the cost of vacancy rates before you sign a lease.

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Air Force announced the award of three Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service Agreements to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and United Launch Alliance.

The $500 million award to Blue Origin will be for development of the New Glenn Launch System. The $792 million award to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems is for development of the OmegA Launch System. The $967 million award to United Launch Alliance will be for development of the Vulcan Centaur Launch System.

The Defense Department has the option to narrow it to two companies no later than 2020 that will then compete for future launches.

Blue Origin was awarded for the preliminary work and will build its New Glenn Launch System.

Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems will manufacture its OmegA Launch System.

United Launch Alliance, which is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, will develop its Vulcan Centaur Launch System.

With the Congressional mandate to transition away from reliance on foreign rocket propulsion systems, and the planned Delta IV retirement, the Air Force developed an acquisition strategy to accelerate National Security Space launch requirements.

“Our launch program is a great example of how we are fielding tomorrow’s Air Force faster and smarter,” said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson in a statement. “We’re making the most of the authorities Congress gave us, and we will no longer be reliant on the Russian-built RD-180 rocket engine.”

“Leveraging domestic commercial space launch systems is good for the Air Force, and a revitalized commercial launch industry is good for the taxpayer,” Wilson added.

While the prototypes are being developed, the Air Force will continue to competitively award commercial launch services contracts to providers who demonstrate the capability to design, produce, qualify and deliver launch systems and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver National Security Space satellites to orbit.

“I’m excited to announce these creative partnerships that directly support the Air Force’s strategy to drive innovation and leverage commercial industry,” said Dr. William Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. “These awards are a leap forward in space launch capabilities, ensuring continued U.S. dominance in space,” Roper added.

By Debbie Gregory.

When servicemembers shed their uniforms for civilian clothing, the desire to serve often remains. It’s not uncommon for veterans to seek careers that allow them to leave a meaningful and positive impact on the people and teams they are responsible for.

As today’s employers face challenges in hiring and retaining talent, they would be wise to take advantage of the talents skills and experience military veterans bring to the table.

Employers who go the extra mile to understand the impacts of the military transition will be at a greater advantage over those who don’t.

Servicemembers who are leaving the military go through the federal “Transition GPS (Goals, Plans, Success)” program, which is designed to prepare them for life in the civilian world, but the program, which runs from 7-10 days, can fall short. Private sector employers, just by recognizing that there is still a lot of transitioning to be done, can aid in the process.

Too many options can be overwhelming for transitioning servicemembers. Employers should keep in mind that for a veteran who had limited choices in the military and is now faced with a completely blank, wide-open landscape in front of them, choice can be paralyzing.

Remember that every veteran is an individual first and foremost, and they have different goals and dreams. But like most of is, they want to be accepted, liked and appreciated.

If you ask a question about their time in the military, be prepared for the answer. Or if they prefer not to talk about what they experienced, be respectful of that.

Keep in mind that committing your time, family, career and sometimes your life to serve your country requires a certain character. The person who serves believes it is the right thing to do, strives to serve others more than him or herself and chooses to celebrate the group success over individual recognition.