Grumman Will Lay Off 10% of Work Force

Grumman Corp. plans to lay off about 10% of its work force or 3,100 employees by the end of 1989, including 2,500 from its main operations in Long Island, the military contractor announced today.

The layoffs will begin in early January, with notices sent to 1,800 workers from various managerial and personnel departments, said Grumman spokesman Bob Harwood.

Harwood said the company will eliminate any unnecessary jobs not directly involved in production. He said that some production people will be affected but that most of the layoffs will be in overhead and managerial positions.

Harwood said all layoffs within the past two years have been caused by declining defense spending, which has increased pressures to cut costs.

In the past two years Grumman has been bumped from three major military aircraft contracts. In 1987 a contract to produce the Navy’s Advanced Tactical Aircraft was awarded to McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics in St. Louis.