all adopted some form of downsizing or consolidation to reduce excess capacity. However, while a few contractors (including GM Hughes, Grumman, and McDonnell Douglas) have divested unprofitable non core businesses where they had little chance of building strategically competitive positions, only General Electric

e=.1.539 Where there is no direct or statistical evidence of age discrimination, the court applies the burden-shitting framework es- tablished in McDonnell Douglas to evalu- ate an ADEA claim based upon circum- stantial evidence. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, § 4(aX1), 29 U.S.C.A. § 623(aX1).