Ford Aerospace Lays Off 600 More York Workers
Ford Aerospace & Communications Corp. of Newport Beach said Friday that another 600 employees assigned to the Sgt. York program will be laid off in the wake of the Pentagon’s abrupt cancellation of orders for the anti-aircraft gun last week.
The company’s announcement, the second in three days, brings the total number of layoffs on the Sgt. York program to 1,200.
The fate of the remaining 700 employees working on the Sgt. York is unclear. A spokesman said the company was unable to determine Friday whether there would be more layoffs or if the remaining employees would be absorbed in other Ford operations both in Orange County and throughout the nation.
The employees receiving pink slips Friday, primarily engineers, manufacturing professionals and logistics managers, were given two weeks’ notice and severance benefits that include a week’s pay for every year of service with the company.
On Wednesday, another 600 Sgt. York assembly and production workers were laid off with two day’s notice and no severance pay.
The Sgt. York program was suddenly canceled last week by Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, who said the $1.8-billion weapon system was not worth additional expenditures. The Army, which had ordered 146 gun systems, expects to scrap the 65 machines that it received and put usable parts in its inventory cache.
