Hughes Says Bulk of Move From Valley to Be Finished by August
Setting a specific date for the first time, Hughes Aircraft Co. said that by August, most of its missile design work at its facility in Canoga Park will be moved to Tucson, effectively ending 28 years of operations in the San Fernando Valley.
A company newsletter issued Friday said that by August, fewer than 200 workers will be left at the Hughes Missile Systems Co. facility, which as of last month employed 1,200 workers.
By October, just a few workers will remain, the newsletter said.
Hughes first announced the move out of Canoga Park in March, 1993, citing an economic need to locate engineering and manufacturing at a single site. Since then, Hughes Missile has been slowly moving operations to Tucson as facilities were being built at its new headquarters site.
Hughes Missile staff, which includes a few hundred Ph.D.s, pioneered the development of guided missiles for the Air Force.
The last of its units to be moved will be its RF Simfax operations, where a missile’s performance is tested against simulated targets, the newsletter said.
Two of Hughes’ buildings in its huge complex were severely damaged by the Northridge earthquake, but the quake did not slow the company’s move to Tucson.
In the newsletter, Bob Knowles, Hughes Missile’s vice president, said the company plans to hire a management company to maintain the site until it can be sold. Hughes Missile officials could not be reached Tuesday.
