Northrop to Close Its Anaheim Plant in ’90

Northrop Corp., which in 1951 became the first aerospace company to set up shop in Orange County, announced Tuesday that it will shut down its Anaheim operation by the end of next year.

Most of the 1,600 employees at the facility will transfer to other plants; an undetermined number will be laid off.

The aerospace giant is consolidating by transferring its Anaheim operations to facilities in El Segundo and Hawthorne. About 150 Anaheim employees will transfer to the El Segundo plant by Aug. 7.

Northrop officials refused to say how many people would be laid off. The company previously announced the reduction of 500 positions through layoffs and attrition in its electronics systems division, which includes the Anaheim facility.

“There won’t be any significant layoffs,” said Maria Oharenko, a company spokesperson who refused to speculate further.

Employees ‘Are All Very Upset’

Northrop Chairman Thomas V. Jones strongly suggested during a shareholders’ meeting last month that the Anaheim plant would be sold. But Northrop officials, seeking to temper Jones’ remarks, said at the time that no final decision had been made.

At the same shareholders meeting, Northrop announced that it would cut its work force by 2,500 to 3,000 positions by year-end, partly because of declining defense spending. Some of those jobs were believed to be in Anaheim.

On Tuesday, employees said the closing of the Anaheim facility was unwelcome, but not unexpected.

“They are all very upset,” said Bob Skelton Jr., a Northrop employee. “If they wanted to work in Hawthorne, they would have gotten a job at Hawthorne. But they got a job here.”

Several employees said they will look for other jobs in Orange County rather than moving or commuting.

“If their new location creates a longer commute than it would from Anaheim and they do not wish to take the assignment, they could take a voluntary layoff in lieu of quitting,” Oharenko said.

Employees laid off are eligible for benefits including unemployment compensation.

Employees in Anaheim design and manufacture infrared and optical sensors used by pilots and anti-aircraft missile crews to shoot down their targets. They also manufacture equipment to test missiles.

The Anaheim and Hawthorne operations make up Northrop’s electronics systems division, which has suffered in recent years from production delays and declining revenue as several key programs neared completion. In particular, analysts said the missile test equipment group in Anaheim and the MX missile project in Hawthorne have experienced serious revenue decline.

Northrop faces difficulties in many of its major military programs. The company has said it expects 1989 sales to remain unchanged from last year’s $5.8 billion.

The aerospace industry is undergoing a painful contraction as defense procurement budgets decline, leading companies to compete more fiercely for smaller contracts.

Hughes Aircraft Co. announced last week that it will eliminate 6,000 jobs by the end of the year, mostly in Southern California. Real estate experts said the sale of Northrop’s Anaheim facility, consisting of five buildings on 53 acres, would help boost revenue.

Northrop was the first major aerospace company to put roots down in Orange County with the 1951 opening of the Anaheim plant. The company said it picked Anaheim because of the area’s growing labor force, favorable tax rates and desirable residential communities.

On 33 acres of land that had been oranges groves, Northrop erected a facility to build optical gun sights that helped the Army’s T-41 tank crews zero in on enemy targets. Because of the demands of the war in Korea, the company started operating the plant less than three months after construction started.

Times staff writer Michael Flagg contributed to this story.