Work Force Steady, Up at 7 of 10 Top Employers
Employment at seven of the 10 largest private companies in the San Fernando Valley area increased or remained steady during the past year, despite the lingering threat of layoffs at many of the firms, a Times survey has found.
Walt Disney Co. enjoyed the biggest increase in new employees: The number working at its Burbank and Glendale facilities jumped 28% to 3,880, from 3,021 a year earlier.
Lockheed remains the area’s biggest employer, but it also had the biggest decline in head count. The Calabasas-based aerospace giant reduced its payroll by about 1,000 people, to 13,306. Most of the reduction was accomplished by not filling vacant positions, though there have been some small layoffs at some of its facilities.
The survey tracked employment during the year that ended June 30 at the biggest corporate employers in the area from Burbank to Camarillo.
Over the past year, many of the companies were the subject of layoff speculation as they underwent budget cuts brought on by a slowdown in orders or the meddling of a corporate raider. None of the 10 companies endured a major layoff, but there have been some close calls and plenty of worried employees.
For example, the number of employees at NBC in Burbank--which was taken over by General Electric in 1986--fell somewhat this year, to 1,943, and did not make the list of the top 10 employers. The decrease was “because of budget cutbacks with GE,” said NBC spokesman Pat Schultz. In April, an NBC survey of its employees revealed “a high percentage” felt their jobs were not secure.
Anxious Workers
Employees at GTE California in Thousand Oaks also are nervous. GTE California’s work force in the San Fernando and Conejo valleys was down about 800, to 4,690 employees. The cuts are the start of a national consolidation by GTE Corp. that is expected to continue for about a year. GTE is trying to bring its expenses in line with those of other local phone companies such as Pacific Bell.
Whereas almost all of GTE California’s reductions to date have been accomplished through attrition and early retirement, financial analysts predict that the company will have to lay off some executives in Thousand Oaks. The company is expected to announce its plans for layoffs in the next couple of months.
Meanwhile, workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Van Nuys managed to hold onto their jobs despite threats of a layoff. GM now employs 5,037 people in the area.
Employees at the plant, which produces Pontiac Firebirds and Chevrolet Camaros, were given a hard choice in February: have 1,900 of their younger colleagues furloughed indefinitely or submit to a job-sharing plan that would have cut the hours of all workers by 50%.
GM officials said the cut in production was necessary because of a slowdown in orders.
It took two divisive votes by the union members before they adopted the 50% work cut. But it was never fully implemented because of a sudden increase in orders for GM cars.
GM and its subsidiary, Hughes Aircraft, remain the Valley’s second-largest employer, with a combined 8,477 workers.
Hughes’ Missile Systems Group in Canoga Park employed 3,100 people last month, compared to 3,300 the year before. Employment at the company’s Radar Systems Group in Van Nuys was essentially unchanged at 140, as was the count of 200 employees at the company’s Sylmar facility, which produces solar cells for satellites.
Disney Projects
Disney spokesman Chuck Champlin attributed his company’s hiring surge to several new company projects. Among them: a chain of retail stores inside shopping malls that sell Disney merchandise, and Euro Disneyland, a theme park scheduled to open in France in 1992. Champlin said the company has also hired more employees to work on an increasing number of movie and television projects.
Lockheed spokesman Nick Duretta said his company started cutting back after the Air Force decided it wouldn’t order any more of Lockheed’s C-5B military cargo planes beyond 1989. “We will have more layoffs,” said Duretta, “but nothing substantial.”
MCA, which has studios in Universal City, could not provide employment statistics for June. Last year, the entertainment giant ranked sixth on the Times list, employing 5,466 workers.
Employment at Litton Industries, the multibillion defense contractor based in Beverly Hills, was unchanged from the year before. Litton employs 6,600 people at facilities in several area cities, including Agoura and Van Nuys. “Our employment tends to be fairly stable,” said John Thom, Litton spokesman. “We literally work in hundreds of programs since we are a defense and electronics company. So we don’t get impacted should one program come to a close.”
There also was little change at ITT, the diversified defense concern. The bulk of ITT’s local employees work at the company’s Gilfillan division in Van Nuys, which makes ground radar and electronics systems.
ITT also owns the Sheraton Universal hotel in North Hollywood, with about 450 employees. ITT’s work force in the area amounts to 3,013 people, unchanged from last year.
Rockwell International reported a slight increase in its local work force to about 8,100. Spokeswoman Joyce Lincoln said the company’s Rocketdyne division in Canoga Park expanded its payroll after receiving four orders for new space shuttle engines.
Eventually, Rocketdyne expects to create about 1,000 positions for work on a manned space station, scheduled to be built in orbit in the mid-1990s. Rocketdyne is one of four contractors sharing the $30-billion bounty from NASA.
Glenfed Inc.--new to the list--saw an increase of about 200 employees from last year, largely due to the October acquisition of Guarantee Savings & Loan, based in Fresno. Glenfed and its subsidiary, Glendale Federal Savings & Loan, employ 2,497 people in the Glendale and Valley area; the institution was unable to provide the number employed in the Conejo Valley.
Both of the health care firms in the top 10 employers reported a slight increase in employment.
Blue Cross of California--despite suffering a $150-million loss over the last two years--said its work force numbered 2,984, up about 30 from the year earlier. Blue Cross has implemented layoffs--the first in more than 30 years--at locations around the state to cut expenses, but the firm’s Woodland Hills employees so far have been largely unaffected.
St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank said it employed 105 more people this year than last, largely due to a new rehabilitation center and a new alcohol and drug abuse program for teen-agers. St. Joseph employs 2,640 workers.
Northrop in Newbury Park, with about 2,100 employees, just missed making the list of the 10 biggest employers.
THE VALLEY’S 10 LARGEST PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS As of June 1988
1. Lockheed 13,306 2. General Motors 8,477 3. Rockwell International 8,100 4. Litton Industries 6,600 5. GTE California 4,690 6. Walt Disney 3,880 7. ITT 3,013 8. Blue Cross of California 2,984 9. St. Joseph Med. Cntr. 2,640 10. Glenfed Inc. 2,497 Los Angeles Times
