Northrop Gets $730-Million Pact

Northrop said Thursday that it has received a $730-million contract from Boeing Co. for continuing production of the 747 jetliner fuselage, which the company has made since 1966.

As reported earlier this year, Northrop will add 1,000 jobs at its Hawthorne aircraft division plant this year and next, half of them with newly hired workers and half with transfers from other Northrop operations.

The Century City-based aerospace firm said it has added 300 jobs so far this year and plans to add another 300 jobs by the end of the year. It currently has 1,800 employees assigned to the program.

Northrop did not disclose how many fuselages it will build under the new Boeing contract, but based on data in Northrop’s annual report the agreement covers production of about 100 fuselages. In 1987, the company booked sales of $209 million on 747 work.

Northrop is stepping up production of the 747 fuselages to five a month, meaning the Boeing contract will fund production for more than a year and half.

Under the 747 program, Northrop builds most of the aircraft’s fuselages in 27 sections, which are shipped to Seattle for assembly.