Lockheed to Cut 2,500 Missiles-Space Jobs

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s missiles and space unit said Friday it will cut as many as 2,500 jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The No. 2 defense and aerospace company said 1,000 to 1,500 workers will be fired and the remainder will leave the company through retirement or other forms of attrition. The cuts represent about 26% of Lockheed’s missile and space workers in the Bay Area.

The cuts at the unit that makes spacecraft and missiles come after Lockheed’s recent loss of a major contract to start managing a continental U.S. missile defense system and another for two NASA weather satellites. In addition, the company said some orders have been delayed.

Earlier this month, Lockheed said it’s initiating a cost-cutting program that will save $2.6 billion annually.

Lockheed, along with partners Raytheon Co. and TRW Inc., lost out to Boeing Co., the largest aerospace company, in April for a $1.6-billion contract to design, develop and potentially develop the radar, rockets and communications of the national missile defense system.

The maker of the F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, Titan and Atlas rockets and C-130 transport planes employs about 170,000 people.

Shares of Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed fell 6 cents to close at $103.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.