Up to 220 Teledyne Inc. Employees to Lose Jobs : Business: Northridge and Newbury Park facilities are being affected by pending sale of division to Litton Industries.

At a time of year when many employees expect corporate Christmas cards or even bonuses, up to 220 workers at Teledyne Inc. in Northridge and Newbury Park received their termination notices Wednesday afternoon.

Confronting the latest round of cutbacks in Southern California’s shrinking aerospace industry, about 1,100 Teledyne employees learned whether they would keep their jobs after the pending sale of Teledyne’s Electronic Systems division to Litton Industries Inc.

At least 80% of the Teledyne employees will be kept on after the Litton deal closes. “These are specific people that we need to carry on the business,” said Robert Knapp, director of public relations for Litton in Beverly Hills.

But Teledyne employees said they had been waiting nervously since the sale was announced in August.

As Teledyne employees in Northridge filed into the parking lot Wednesday at the close of the workday, they were handed gray envelopes containing letters that told them whether they would still have a job at the start of the new year.

Even those who were offered positions found that the news was not altogether good. Fred Ford, a 61-year-old technician who said he has worked at Teledyne for 33 years, found out he would keep his $614-per-week position, but only for nine months.

“Holy cow,” said Ford, whose hands trembled as he read the notice. “I sincerely thought they would welcome the people in our department. I feel terrible.”

An electrician who asked that his name not be used said he will keep his job, but that he and many other employees were upset that they had to wait so long to learn their fates and that so many employees were getting bad news just before Christmas.

“We were strung out for so long,” the man said. “I planned for the worst and hoped for the best. I know a couple of guys that are getting (released) with more than 10 years of service.”

Other employees who will keep their jobs said they are still uncertain about their futures at the company, because Litton has reportedly leased the two Teledyne facilities for just two years. They said they fear further cuts could be on the way.

A clerk who also asked not to be identified said she would lose her job in nine months, but was glad that months of tension at the Northridge plant were finally over. The atmosphere Wednesday at Teledyne “was very quiet,” she said. “It’s almost like you could hear a pin drop, even at lunchtime.”

Teledyne’s Electronic Systems division manufactures aircraft computers, radar and communication systems and other devices for the defense industry. Revenue from the division was expected to exceed $150 million this year.

Terms of the acquisition by Litton, which is expected to be completed by the end of this month, were not disclosed.