Lockheed Martin [LMT] said recently that its Space Systems division will cut roughly 1,200 employees by year-end.
It is anticipated that middle management will be reduced by 25 percent, with smaller percentage impacts in other levels. The largest impacts are expected at the company’s sites in Sunnyvale, Calif., the Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania, and Denver, Colo., where several of the company’s major space programs are transitioning out of development. Overall, the division employs 16,000.
Joanne Maguire, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said, “In today’s economic environment, we have two choices: make painful decisions now or pay a greater price down the road. This is a difficult but necessary action to improve efficiencies and make our business more competitive going forward.”
Space Systems will offer eligible salaried employees voluntary layoffs and will provide career transition support.