Lockheed Martin [LMT] on Thursday said it plans to relocate its California-based Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program to other U.S. locations to improve affordability and centralize mission expertise.
The relocation effort will be phased over eight years and involve 650 positions. Lockheed Martin said sites in Florida and Colorado are being considered to receive the positions.
The company doesn’t have an estimate yet on the cost savings it expects to achieve from the relocation. A company spokesman told Defense Daily that costs associated with the phased relocations aren’t material.
The moves are enabled by government approval, Lockheed Martin said.
The FBM program is part of the company’s Space Systems business area.
“Reshaping our Fleet Ballistic Missile program will help us take full advantage of our engineering and manufacturing facilities and centralize key skills, saving costs for the Navy on this critical national security program,” Rick Ambrose, executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said in a statement.
The company said the eight-year transition gives its employees time to prepare for moving.
In 2015 Lockheed Martin said it was moving 130 FBM positions to Florida to align the work with ongoing test and sustainment efforts.