AEROSPACE

Lockheed Martin to Close Ontario Plant: Lockheed Martin Corp., continuing the consolidation it began more than a year ago, will move its aircraft services division from Ontario to Palmdale, bringing about 1,000 workers from San Bernardino County to the Antelope Valley. The aerospace giant already has about 3,500 employees at its famed Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, where it designs top-secret military aircraft. The relocation of the aircraft services business to the company-owned Palmdale facility was not unexpected, following the announcement in December that management and administration of the two divisions would be consolidated. But it means that Lockheed Martin, which once had employees spread throughout Southern California, will have centralized nearly all its regional operations at one location. The move will begin immediately and will be completed in the first half of 1998. Up to 500 of the aircraft services division’s current employees will be laid off. The consolidation was portrayed as a cost-saving move necessitated by shrinking defense budgets.