Boeing to cut 750 jobs at California satellite facility

22 May 2008

The Boeing Company, which lost a $3.6 billion satellite contract to Lockheed Martin, plans to lay off 750 employees in its Southern California facility, blaming on a downturn in its satellite assembly and integration business.
 
Boeing Co, which lost a potential $3.6 billion US Air Force satellite deal to Lockheed Martin Corporation last week, blamed US government delays in awarding the contract for a new generation of global positioning satellites known as GPS III.

"The stretching out of government contract awards, along with a continuing lighter demand in the commercial marketplace for large, high-power satellites, has created a surplus in the work force that must be addressed now so that we are competitive," Greg Cooning, general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems business unit, said in a statement.

The reductions are primarily in the area of engineering, although all skills will be affected, and will affect workers mostly in El Segundo and Seal Beach, California.

Boeing will issue 60-day notices in May for an initial group of 100 employees, with layoffs to occur in July. Another group will be notified at the end of June with redeployment occurring in July and August.

The Space and Intelligence System plans to have a work force of approximately 6,450 employees at the end of 2008, compared with its current count of 7,200.

Boeing said it is trying to redeploy many of the affected workers in California and at other sites where the company has suitable job openings.