Rockwell Corp. Will Lay Off 400 Missile Workers : * Defense: The cancellation of rail car-based MX program will lead to loss of 100 jobs in Anaheim and 300 in San Bernardino.

Rockwell International Corp. will lay off 400 employees in San Bernardino and Anaheim following President Bush’s recent decision to cancel a program to field nuclear missiles on railroad cars, the company said Friday.

The layoffs, which include 100 employees in Anaheim and 300 in San Bernardino, represent 6% of the 6,500 employees at Rockwell’s Defense Electronics subsidiary, headquartered in Anaheim. The layoffs will begin next week, company spokeswoman Christine Rodriguez said.

Rockwell, based in El Segundo, announced the job cuts after receiving formal notice Friday that the Air Force was canceling its program to field multiple-warhead MX nuclear missiles on railroad cars. The program cancellation was part of a sweeping arms-reduction program announced two weeks ago by President Bush, reflecting improved U.S.-Soviet relations.

Other contractors affected by cancellation of the so-called rail garrison program are Logicon Systems Inc. in San Pedro, Westinghouse Electric Corp.’s Marine division in Sunnyvale, and Boeing Co.’s Defense & Space Group in Seattle.

A Logicon spokesman said fewer than 10 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the cancellation. Officials at Westinghouse and Boeing said they were uncertain how many layoffs might result.

“We expect to have more information next week, and our employees know it is imminent,” Susan Bradley of Boeing said. Boeing employs 2,500 people on three programs that were canceled by Bush.

Rockwell tried to find jobs elsewhere in the division for some workers but was unable to relocate the 400 people who will be laid off, Rodriguez said.

Employees with five years or less experience will get two weeks’ severance pay, while those with five or more years of service will get four weeks’ pay, Rodriguez said.

Rockwell will assist laid-off workers through a job-counseling program and job fairs scheduled for Oct. 23 and Oct. 30.

After the layoffs, the San Bernardino plant will employ 300 people working on various other defense programs. Company jobs in Anaheim will drop to about 5,800 employees, Rodriguez said.