McDonnell Slashes 254 Jobs in O.C. : Economy: The aerospace company is realigning its divisions so they can share support services and save money.

In the latest in a series of cutbacks this year, McDonnell Douglas Corp. said Friday that it will eliminate 254 jobs in Huntington Beach and Santa Ana as part of a regional restructuring.

The aerospace company is realigning its divisions so that they can share support services such as human resources and communications departments, thus saving money.

McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach will cut 199 support-related jobs from its 7,000-person work force, spokesman Tom Williams said. Those to be laid off were given two weeks’ notice Friday morning, he said. The company also laid off 55 of its 1,100 employees at McDonnell Douglas Electronic Systems Co. in Santa Ana.

Parent McDonnell Douglas Corp. cut 400 employees this week at its headquarters in St. Louis.

Between 1987 and 1991, Orange County lost an estimated 27,000 defense positions--more than a third of such jobs here, according to a report released last month by two Cal State Fullerton economists. The county could lose another 11,600 to 17,500 jobs in the defense industry during the next four years, the report said.

In the past 12 months, Southern California companies such as Rockwell International, Loral Aeronutronic, SPS Technologies and BFM Aerospace have shed several thousand employees as a result of canceled programs or cost reductions. Many smaller companies have quietly let employees go or shut down operations entirely.

The latest McDonnell Douglas layoffs were triggered three months ago when the company reorganized its defense and space businesses. The streamlining was aimed at eliminating duplicated support and administrative functions among six formerly independent divisions.

John McDonnell, chief executive of the St. Louis parent company, said in a statement Friday that the reorganization is part of an effort to trim $350 million in annual costs. McDonnell said the restructuring is now “essentially complete.”

Space Systems and Electronic Systems were combined with the C-17 military cargo aircraft program in Long Beach. The resulting unit, McDonnell Douglas West, is headed by Space Systems’ top executive, Kenneth A. Francis.

With the ebb and flow of the space business, the work force has fluctuated in recent years at Huntington Beach, where the main programs there are assembling the Delta II rocket and making components for the planned Space Station Freedom. In Santa Ana, the Electronic Systems unit makes defense electronics and communications equipment.

Huntington Beach employment peaked in 1990 at about 7,500 employees, Williams said. Since then, there have been three major layoffs of about 250 each, balanced by some limited hiring and transfers of employees from the Santa Ana facility.

Williams said about 30 of those given notice Friday are union workers. Most of the others, he said, are salaried employees in areas such as communications, administration and human resources.

In the parking lot at Space Systems after lunch on Friday, empty spaces were plentiful. Most employees walked quickly to their cars and would not give interviews. One said, “I’ve been in this business for 20 years, and things go up and down.”

Charles Collins, an electronics technician in the Electronic Systems unit, said many of those remaining after the latest layoff are nervous about their jobs.

“People are in limbo,” he said. “They aren’t making decisions about buying furniture or homes. I’ve worked here for 13 years. It’s the worst it’s ever been.”