Drop in Orders Spurs More General Dynamics Layoffs

The pace of previously announced layoffs at General Dynamics has picked up in recent weeks because of unanticipated reductions in orders for MD-11 jetliner fuselages that the company’s San Diego-based Convair Division manufactures for McDonnell Douglas, General Dynamics spokeswoman Julie Andrews said Friday.

Employment at General Dynamics, the county’s largest private employer, will fall to about 7,500 by summer’s end, down from about 9,000 in January, Andrews said. The layoffs are being caused by a drop in orders from both government and commercial customers.

General Dynamics in March announced that layoffs would reduce the total number of employees in San Diego County to about 7,700 at year’s end. The number of employees lost through layoffs and attrition has risen faster than had been anticipated, largely because of the expected order cuts by McDonnell Douglas, Andrews said.

Because of the order slowdown, the company’s “year-end projection is going to be lower than what was projected in March,” Andrews said. In March, General Dynamics executives indicated that its San Diego work force was likely to shrink by 5% to 10% during each of the next five years.

So far during 1992, 635 San Diego-based employees have been let go or taken early retirement options, Andrews said. Another 459 have been given notice that their jobs are likely to be eliminated during the next 60 days, Andrews said.

General Dynamics officials are uncertain how many more jobs will be eliminated during the rest of 1992, Andrews said. The pace of layoffs might pick up again later in the year if McDonnell Douglas again cuts back on fuselage orders, Andrews said.