AEROSPACE

Defense Contractor Seeks Wage Cuts: Raytheon Co. has asked its largest union to take a 15% wage cut as part of a cost-cutting plan triggered by lower defense spending, a union official said. “I would never accept it,” said Jim Kilroy of Local 1505 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which covers 5,000 Raytheon workers in Massachusetts. “It’s very unfair.” But independent observers say the union may not have much choice, because Raytheon will do whatever it needs to stay competitive with other defense contractors, and there aren’t many other opportunities in Massachusetts for skilled workers. A Raytheon spokeswoman, Elizabeth Allen, said: “We aren’t confirming, or commenting, in any way.”