Pentagon auditors tell KBR to slash work force in Iraq

Posted Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Pentagon auditors are telling the Army’s primary support contractor in Iraq, responsible for everything from mail and laundry to housing and meals, to cut its work force there or face nearly $200 million in penalties for keeping thousands too many on the payroll.

According to an internal Defense Department audit, Houston-based KBR has increased employee levels while U.S. troops steadily leave the country. As a result, the U.S. government is paying far more in labor costs in Iraq than it should.

KBR had 17,034 employees in Iraq in January 2008, when there were about 160,000 American troops there. As of this Sept. 1, there were 17,095 KBR employees in Iraq even though troop levels had dropped to about 130,000, bases had closed and the services KBR provides were being scaled back, auditors said.

Each full-time KBR employee earns about $8,425 a month in pay and benefits, the audit says.

KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said the company is reviewing the audit. She said the company’s work in Iraq "is being conducted in the ever-changing environment of a war zone, which brings its own daily challenges and priority tasks."

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