San Diego, Hughes Form Panel to Create New Jobs

Without guaranteeing that any jobs will be saved, Hughes Aircraft and the city of San Diego announced formation of a task force Monday to create jobs for some of the 4,500 General Dynamics Convair employees who are likely to lose their jobs during the next year.

At a press conference Monday at San Diego City Hall to describe their “unique civic-corporate partnership,” Hughes Aircraft Vice Chairman Michael T. Smith and Mayor Maureen O’Connor said the panel will search for job retraining grants as well as legislative incentives to make San Diego a more hospitable site for business.

Smith said the displaced employees will have “priority” for job openings within Hughes Aircraft, which currently employs 2,200 at its other San Diego-based operations.

In May, Hughes announced it would pay $450 million for General Dynamics’ missiles operation and that it would consolidate the manufacturing at the lowest cost locale.

Hughes later said that the consolidation would likely take place at either the General Dynamics missiles plant in Pomona or Hughes’ underutilized, recently modernized Tucson plant.

The disclosure means that 2,000 local employees of General Dynamics working on the Navy’s Tomahawk missile are facing the probable loss of their jobs in such a consolidation.

Another 2,500 General Dynamics employees working on the Air Force’s advanced cruise missile will be laid off when the contract runs out by August, 1993.