FORT WORTH -- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. will cut 670 salaried workers from its Fort Worth staff by year's end, about 6 percent of the company's 10,500 nonunion employees.
Lockheed announced Monday that 370 employees were being told that they had been designated for layoffs and that 300 had accepted voluntary layoffs or severance.
The looming layoffs are part of a 1,500-job cutback being undertaken by the Fort Worth-based aeronautics division as part of an effort by Lockheed Martin as it prepares for tighter defense budgets and closer Pentagon scrutiny. Lockheed is based in Bethesda, Md.
"These reductions are part of the plan to reduce costs and improve efficiency within Lockheed Martin Aeronautics," Lockheed spokeswoman Laura Siebert said.
About 4,500 union-represented hourly wage workers, primarily aircraft assembly and manufacturing staff, are not affected by the cutbacks.
In addition to the planned layoffs, Siebert said the company will not fill 300 vacant positions across the aeronautics unit as it reorganizes.
The aeronautics division's two other major employment centers, Marietta, Ga., and Palmdale, Calif., are also cutting jobs. Marietta will lay off 115 workers, and 100 took severance. Palmdale will lay off 55, and 50 took severance.
The division's Greenville, S.C., aircraft modification and maintenance site announced 300 planned job cuts earlier.
Siebert said the job cuts in Fort Worth will affect all areas of the salaried workforce. Engineering and other positions tied to the F-35 program may have been most vulnerable since much of the early stage design work is done and the aircraft are heavily into testing.
All the employees designated for layoffs, either voluntarily or involuntarily, will leave by year's end, Siebert said.
The aeronautics division, which produces and services military aircraft for the U.S. and foreign governments, is Lockheed Martin's second-largest business sector. It had revenue of more than $13 billion last year, and through the first six months of 2011 has posted revenue growth of 8 percent.
But sales and production of the F-16 fighter plane have dropped off in recent years. In addition, continued delays in the F-35 program mean that production of that aircraft has not accelerated at the planned pace and, with tighter defense spending, may remain slower than planned for years.
Other Lockheed divisions are trimming workers as well. The Missiles and Fire Control division in Grand Prairie confirmed last week that it is cutting 71 positions, largely because of canceled Pentagon contracts.
Bob Cox,
817-390-7723
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