Editor's Note An In-plant Casualty

Though Honeycutt said only that the in-plant's profitability was studied by a team of "senior officers," one insider at USAA said the company hired a man specifically to conduct the study—a man who quit once he had made the decision to shut down the shop.

And although Honeycutt said Mondin helped conduct the analysis, our source said in-plant officials were largely kept out of the discussions.