McDonnell to Start Laying Off Some Space Station Workers

McDonnell Douglas Corp. said Thursday it will begin layoffs today of 250 people working on the space station in Huntington Beach and an added 350 in a Houston suburb.

An additional 125 jobs will be lost in Huntington Beach as employees quit or retire--or, in the case of contractors, when their contracts are not renewed. The Houston plant will lose 75 more people the same way, the huge defense contractor said.

And a total of 200 more jobs may soon be cut from both places as the government reduces funding for the space station program. McDonnell, for instance, said it will get only about $427 million this year for space station work, compared to $730 million last year.

The McDonnell Douglas Aerospace division employs 5,500 in Huntington Beach.

The parent company confirmed three weeks ago that it would lay off about 1,000 space station workers in Texas, Huntington Beach and its headquarters in St. Louis.

Altogether, the aerospace industry and government may lose as many as 4,000 workers as a result of the cutbacks.