News
Lockheed Martin cutting 4,000 U.S. jobs
Nov. 15, 2013, Bethesda, Md. - Lockheed Martin is cutting 4,000 jobs, about 3.5 per cent of its workforce, as the defence contractor continues to look for ways to lower costs amid reduced government spending.
November 15, 2013 By The Canadian Press
"In the face of government budget cuts and an increasingly complex
global security landscape, these actions are necessary for the future of
our business," CEO Marilyn Hewson said Thursday in a statement.
Other company officials said that job cuts are not in the works for Canadian operations.
Amy
Gowder, vice-president of Kelly Aviation Centre, a unit of Lockheed
Martin, said from her San Antonio head office that the Canadian
operations would not be affected.
"No, no effects there, none whatsoever," she said.
Kelly
Aviation took over some assets and functions of defunct Montreal
aircraft repair firm Aveos Fleet Performance and is in the process of
refurbishing and re-starting some factory lines.
Across-the-board
spending cuts by the U.S. federal government have helped trim U.S.
budget deficits. Budget negotiators in Congress are holding talks
centred on finding ways to cut spending and tax breaks to replace the
automatic cuts that started earlier this year that are slamming the
Pentagon and domestic agencies.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed
Martin Corp., maker of Patriot missile defence system and the F-35 and
F-16 fighter planes, will close plants in Goodyear, Ariz.; Akron, Ohio;
Newtown, Pa.; and Horizon City, Tex.; as well as four buildings at its
Sunnyvale, Calif. campus, by mid-2015, eliminating 2,000 jobs.
Another
2,000 positions will be cut in its information systems and global
solutions, mission system and training, and space systems units by
2014's end.
Lockheed Martin said it will shift work and some
employees to facilities in Denver and Valley Forge, Pa. The company is
also reviewing other possible plants to which it could relocate
programs, including facilities in Owego, N.Y. and Orlando, Fla.
Lockheed Martin said it has cut its workforce to 116,000 employees from 146,000 since 2008.
Last month, the company said that revenue would decline "slightly" next year on likely federal budget cuts.
Shares dipped 5 cents to $137.21 in morning trading. The stock is up 49 per cent this year.
