Businesses and sailors brace for cuts

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Time has run out on a deal to avoid the sequester. President Barack Obama says places like Hampton Roads will feel the painful effects of the sequester the hardest. The defense, shipbuilders, and businesses around them could all take a hit.

Reaction on the sequester is mixed amongst sailors at Naval Station Norfolk. Some are not worried at all while others are terrified over what could happen

For years the finances of Kristal Pioquinto's family has been woven and held together by the Navy.

"My uncle is retired Navy. He was a Chief in the Navy, and his all his three brothers were in the Navy too," Pioquinto said. "It's like four brothers."

Now the family serves the Navy in a different way through the stitches and weaves of alterations. From the amount of business coming into Chief Mac's and Emma's Alteration shop, the sequester hasn't put a halt to Navy and Marine business. Yet many wonder how long it will stay that way.

"There might end up being like 15 to 20 civilians who are laid off or told to go on leave. Some other civilians I work with instead of working five days a week they will work three days a week which is going to take them way down on budgeting issues," Navy Information System Technician Justin Lee said. "People could lose their houses or think they could lose their houses over all this."

Other are hopeful members of Congress will patch things up in Washington to lessen the blow of the sequester.

"I trust that our government is going to look at it and they are going to make their cuts in the bigger programs whether it's the manufacturing of the new F-35s joint strike fighters or the building of new barracks," said Corporal Brian Bengeldrum. "It's going to mitigate on a much louder scale than on the troop level."

Just in case though, Lee has lined up a backup plan if things get bad.

"I already talked to my parents actually and they said they will help me pay to go back home to Wisconsin if it gets that bad," Lee said. "If not I will try to sell my car to get at least two-thousand dollars out of it."

Kristal Pioquinto says like the many battles her elders have weathered before, they are hopeful their shop will conqueror the battle of sequestration as well.