Grumman will lay off 180 workers in California.

The aerospace firm, headquartered in Bethpage, N.Y., said it will begin the layoffs on Oct. 31 at its technical services division at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc. Grumman, a subcontractor to Lockheed on the space shuttle program, said the layoffs were forced by the Air Force’s postponement of future space shuttle launches at Vandenberg. The firm said affected employees will be offered help in getting new jobs.