General Dynamics to Cut 600 Jobs at Pomona Missile Unit

General Dynamics’ Pomona division said Wednesday that it will eliminate 600 salaried and hourly jobs at its missile operation by the middle of this month.

At least half of the job losses will involve employee layoffs and the balance will be through normal attrition, a company spokesman said.

Additional layoffs may occur next year, but the company said it would not reach that decision until the first quarter of 1989. Employees have been warned, however, to expect further cutbacks. Last year, the division laid off 250 employees.

In the current round of layoffs, employees were notified Oct. 28. At that time, the division had 10,053 employees, including 6,989 in Pomona, 1,510 in Camden, Ark., and 410 at a Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona. The layoffs affect only Pomona, a spokesman said, and will cut employment there to 6,389.

The reductions are being blamed on declining orders for Navy Standard missiles and Phalanx gun systems, equipment that the division formerly produced without competition but which has become subject to competitive buying in the past year.

The division won 60% of the orders for Standards in 1988, resulting in a backlog of 824 missiles, but that is 370 missiles fewer than the year earlier.

General Dynamics won 100% of the orders for Phalanx gun systems, but the Navy ordered only 36 guns in 1988, down from 80 in 1987, a spokesman said.