New Hampshire Struggles with End of AT&T Contract

(MoneyWatch)  One of the issues with government contracting is that an area may be hit badly when a contract ends or is given to another vendor. AT&T lost a contract with the State Department to provide a call center related to passport processing. The contract was given to another company after it was finished. Now The Manchester Union Leader reports that the state of New Hampshire is rushing around trying to help the 300 people who will lose jobs.
Often times when the incumbent changes the new company will hire some or most of the employees from the original contract. Here it looks like the winner will set up the call center in another location, making it hard to transfer the people from AT&T. It may also be that the winner will use existing capability to handle this work. Most contracts are for a set number of years and localities should understand and prepare for a time when they will not have the work going on in their area. The Defense Budget especially has been cyclical throughout the history of the US and has caused boom-and-bust in areas of the US.