Point Mugu to Eliminate Up to 250 Civilian Jobs

Officials at the Point Mugu Naval Air Station announced the elimination of as many as 250 civilian positions in the next six months as part of a broad reorganization designed to modernize the Pacific fleet.

The air station, which employs more than 2,000 civilians, is one of the Navy’s primary research, development and testing centers for air weapons.

The reorganization, which is to be completed by November, also will entail merging the administrations of Point Mugu and the nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme. Each base will keep its name, but the facility as a whole will be called Naval Base Ventura County.

Officials said the positions to be cut will include a wide range of jobs, from computer engineers to mechanics.

The cuts are part of a much larger shift in naval resources.

Aiming to decrease base operating expenses by 10%, President Clinton and Secretary of Defense William Cohen have proposed a new round of base closures to begin in 2001 and 2003.

A total of 427 positions in the Navy’s weapons division will be eliminated, resulting in layoffs at China Lake, White Sands and Point Mugu, officials said.

Area representatives and Navy officials are confident that the streamlining and the base’s new status as Pacific Fleet headquarters will keep Point Mugu’s head well above water during another round of base closures.